I don't rule out raising some taxes into the future.

My job as Taoiseach, and the job of any government, of course, is to represent all people.

In a time of global uncertainty, rising terrorism, and enormous threats to peace, it's right that we as a country should now seek to extend our diplomatic footprint overseas.

My instinct is to say it as I see it, being a little bit edgy and showing leadership on policy issues.

Part of my mission, if I have that opportunity as leader, is to take Sinn Fein on.

We always need to bear in mind that when it comes to blood transfusion, it's the person that's receiving the blood who takes the risk, not the person donating it.

I see us very much at the heart of Europe. We are founding members of the single market; we are founding members of the euro.

There should be no economic border at all between the North and South.

We really need to come behind and press for marriage equality in Northern Ireland.

I think Sinn Fein remains the greatest threat to our democracy and our prosperity as a state.

I know when my father travelled 5,000 miles to make his home in Ireland, I doubt he ever dreamed that his son would one day grow up to be its leader.

I think there should be a law that would allow the Oireachtas to take pensions away from people. That would go for corrupt politicians; it would go for public servants who failed miserably or were incompetent.

I've never had a choice of which government department I would hold. I've always been assigned a department by the Taoiseach.

I was appointed to Cabinet three times; on no occasion did I pitch for what position I wanted.

I consider myself pro-life, as I accept that the unborn is a human life with rights, and I do not support abortion on request or on demand.

I have always stuck my neck out on policy issues.

Politicians should not get involved in the detail of clinical criteria and shouldn't be arguing with professors and consultants over whether there is one standard deviation or two standard deviations.

I was with my mum in the shops, a ladies boutique or something, and I was asked what I wanted to be when I grow up. I think you're supposed to say an ambulance man or a footballer or a soldier or something like that, and I told all my mother's friends that I wanted to be Minister for Health. She was mortified, needless to say.

What I do now is I train in the mornings, and people ask me why I do it. I do it for two reasons: first of all, to keep in shape, but secondly, I think training, sport, and physical activity is really good for mental health.

There are a lot of people who want to retain the Eighth Amendment - I don't agree with that view myself - there are others who want to remove it, but when you ask them what that means, they aren't able to tell you.

Economic gains on their own, without a vision for society to accompany them, will result in a squandered prosperity that will ultimately be unsustainable.

People travel overseas to do things overseas that aren't legal in Ireland all the time. You know, are we going to stop people going to Las Vegas? Are we going to stop people going to Amsterdam? There are things that are illegal in Ireland, and we don't prevent people from travelling overseas to avail of them.

My mum wanted me to be a doctor like my dad, and at 7, I really wanted to be a politician, and I managed in my mind to combine the two.

It's the middle class; it's middle Ireland, and it's a group of people who often feel that they contribute a lot to the economy and a lot to society, but maybe they don't get as much back for it as they should.

I have a good social life.

I would love to believe that my political judgment is impeccable, but it's not.

I'll demand of myself and my own government what, in the past, I insisted of others.

My opinion has always been that when it comes to deciding where specialist centres should be located, whether they are regional or national specialities, it should be done on clinical grounds.

The gutter is Bertie Ahern's natural habitat.

Marriage in our Constitution is very clear that it's a man marrying a woman, largely with a view to having a natural family, and if they are unable to do that, obviously then they can adopt.

Nobody that I know would ever say that I'm sexist.

It's not something that defines me. I'm not a half-Indian politician or a doctor politician or a gay politician for that matter... it is part of my character, I suppose.

We would only need a bespoke solution for Northern Ireland if Britain leaves the Single Market.

What I would rather see, what I think would be the best outcome, is a very close relationship between the United Kingdom and the E.U.

One of the big problems in Dail Eireann is the lack of women.

I miss being able to have a drink in my local pub, which I can't do anymore, or being able to go to the shops without every second person staring at me and looking at my basket to see what I'm buying.

It's up to American citizens to decide who they elect as president.

We will, of course, work with whoever Americans decide to elect as president.

What are these better deals the U.K. really wants from Europe and other countries? Some more clarity would be helpful.

It's fair to say that the policy and character of my government would be, or the government which I lead, would be very different to that of President Trump.

Enda Kenny has the full support of the Fine Gael parliamentary party.

We can't have a government that will collapse in three months.

Fine Gael is the party of opportunity, and no matter what background you come from, we give people a chance, and it gave me a chance.

I keep my private life to myself, and that's going to continue.

I always think that friends and family are off-bounds. I went into politics; they didn't.

I just want people to know that whatever decisions are made on any issue, I'll make them according to what I believe is in the public interest and my own conscience.

I won't be allowing my own background or my own sexual orientation to dictate the decisions that I make.

Those of us who are in the centre believe in opening up to the world, believe migration on balance is a good thing if it is managed properly, and believe that multilateralism is the best way to solve problems.

Geographically, we are at the periphery of Europe, but I don't see Ireland in that way. The way I see us is as an island at the center of the world.

If Britain doesn't stay in the Single Market or Customs Union, we are very much in favor of a free trade agreement between the U.K. and Europe. We don't want Britain to be punished for its decision to leave, and it is not in our interests for Britain to be punished because we may be the ones who lose out as much if not more than them.