It is not true that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. It is more accurate to say that the gap between the top and bottom of the social ladder has failed to narrow. - From a new book, The Best of Times? The Social Impact of the Celtic Tiger, published by the ESRI.
I knelt down beside her and I remember talking to her and I remember rubbing her arms. They were cold. I knew she was dead.
Rose Callaly, the mother of Rachel O'Reilly, describing discovering her daughter's body.
There is no question at any level of any interference with me directly or indirectly in coming to this decision.
- Cathal Goan, RTÉ director-general, after the State broadcaster reached a settlement with Mayo TD Beverley Flynn over costs arising from her failed libel action.
One day the Good Lord will take Fidel Castro away.
- US president George W. Bush.
I would want to use my year to say to immigrants coming here that this is a land of opportunities and it is a country that is described as a place of a thousand welcomes.
- Rotimi Adebari, a Nigerian who arrived in Ireland seven years ago and who was elected the State's first black mayor by Portlaoise town council.
He was not honest and was not helpful in solving the conflict in the Middle East.
- Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas, speaking about outgoing British prime minister Tony Blair, who is taking on a new role as an international peace envoy to the Middle East.
Let the work of change begin.
- Gordon Brown, who has succeeded Tony Blair as prime minister.
The iPhone is the most sophisticated, outlook-challenging piece of electronics to come along in years. It does so many things so well, and so pleasurably, that you tend to forgive its foibles.
- David Pogue, an American technology writer, as Apple's much-hyped iPhone hits US shelves.
Russia has risen again as a centre of power and we, the people of the world, need Russia to become stronger.
- The president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, urging Russia to become a bulwark against the US.
I've been going out for a long time now. Yeah, it's fun, but it's not going to be the mainstay of my life any more.
- Socialite Paris Hilton after a 23-day stay in a Los Angeles jail.
Others ask me: 'Why don't you cut this into two cars and make more money?'
- Said Maqsud, the Afghan businessman behind Kabul's first and only stretch limousine service.
Corruption is a cancer that steals from the poor, eats away at governance and moral fibre and destroys trust.
- Robert Zoellick, the new president of the World Bank.