Bertie Ahern Quotations

It is quite unacceptable that a member of Dáil Éireann and in particular a Cabinet Minister and Taoiseach, should be supported in his personal lifestyle by gifts made to him personally.

Mr Brown is a politician of exceptional experience and ability, and I am sure he will discharge the office of Prime Minister with distinction

We were always dead against the war.

I've seen it over the years, the more intellectual they are, the more work they don't want to do. You have to do both, you have to be able to put in the graft.

Sitting on the sidelines, cribbing and moaning is a lost opportunity. I don’t know how people who engage in that don’t commit suicide.

Some people dye their hair yellow or put rings in their noses

I never condone wrongdoing in any area

The public are entitled to have an absolute guarantee of the financial probity and integrity of their elected representatives, their officials and above all of Ministers. They need to know that they are under financial obligations to nobody.

We have reached a point in the process where the parties must decide. We are giving them a reasonable but finite time to do so.

Obviously we had wished to be able to present the proposals in the context of full agreement. (But) we are on the brink of an accommodation that would have been regarded as impossible not that long ago.

I would be a disaster, to put it at its mildest, if any of the institutions were to slide. I think people need to think very, very hard,

If they don't, we will intensify every single effort that I can physically and possibly do legislatively, and with the security forces, to break these organizations,

The people on whose behalf you claim to act have spoken. Your ways are the ways of the past,

There are so many differences in our policies I'd hardly get through five days.

It is a momentous day for the people of these islands, north and south.

President Bush is very much aware of the abhorrence that the people of Ireland and of Europe felt at the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by coalition forces,

Such a proposal would show citizens the EU was working in their interests.

It is extremely difficult, there is no hiding that fact.

Whoever was responsible for this evil deed was certainly no friend of the peace process and no friend of anybody on this island.

We must look to the day when loyalist weapons are removed from the equation,

We have the strongest possible basis for permanent peace in Ireland, such as has never before been experienced in our history,

was prepared to take risks for the peace process, risks to secure agreement and risks to implement it.

There is absolutely no excuse for the disgraceful scenes in Dublin today. It is the essence of Irish democracy and republicanism that people are allowed to express their views freely and in a peaceful manner.

I spoke to Jose Manuel last night and was happy to share this information with him. It is a great tribute to the prime minister and to Portugal that colleagues have expressed such support for him and wish to see him accept this appointment.

People should not allow themselves to be deflected or disheartened, ... determined that, working closely with the British government and the parties, a way can and will be found to implement the agreement in full.

As all parties examine the proposals that Tony Blair and I issued them, no doubt they will have some points of clarification. Already Mr. Trimble has stated he has some.

that the weapons and explosives are safely and adequately stored and cannot be used without the knowledge of Mr. Ahtisaari and Mr. Ramaphosa, who will re-inspect the arms dumps on a regular basis to ensure that the weapons have remained secure.

Your even-handed support and wise counsel continues to be an invaluable resource to us for our search for lasting peace,

This is not good. The meeting was bad. Relations were bad. It was very hostile, even bitter... I don't like to see grown men bickering.

This is not a time for sitting back. It's not a time for complacency. We cannot afford a prolonged stalemate.

This is an area in which our views are well known to the U.S. government,

They may not have an opportunity again for quite some time if they cannot make it work on this occasion. It is time therefore to talk and it's time to agree.

As we strive today to become one of the most vibrant knowledge societies in the world, our future economic development will depend to a large degree on our ability to generate new knowledge and to innovate,

A comprehensive deal is a comprehensive deal, which means all issues are addressed by everyone. Otherwise, it's a piecemeal deal. ... It is not acceptable that we should fall short.

It is our sincere wish that the Northern Ireland institutions be restored as soon as possible.

It's a landmark development. It's of real historic significance. We are enormously relieved that we can finally close this difficult chapter of the peace process.

It is vital that we move forward together in the coming days as the transfer of sovereignty approaches,

the best, the most skillful, the most devious and the most cunning.

I'm not a soldier and I don't want to be, and quite frankly I don't care about the brand name of the guns and that sort of thing.

Ireland is absolutely committed to playing its part in supporting the people of Iraq to build a truly sovereign and secure country.

George should be remembered as the very best at what he did. He was quite simply a football genius.