It will take hours – in many cases days – to get all of our people and resources on the ground. None of this will seem quick enough if you have a loved one who's trapped, if you're sleeping on the streets, if you can't feed your children

US president Barack Obama on the humanitarian crisis facing Haiti after last week's earthquake

I could hear him say he was safe, he was uninjured and 'I love you'

The sister of Irish resident of Haiti, Paddy Doyle, who had a miracle escape from the earthquake

I didn't kill her. I swear before God. I couldn't do it to Celine

Statement given to gardai by Eamonn Lillis who stands accused of murdering his wife Celine Cawley

I found in my discussions with Minister Lenihan that he was very much in the same space as I was. I got that clear impression. He understood how important this was.

Environment minister John Gormley on his discussions with finance minister Brian Lenihan over a potential banking inquiry

The situation is receiving the highest priority and every effort is being made to get a supply to the most affected areas

Lord Mayor of Dublin Emer Costello on serious water shortages in the capital

There are days when, were it not a case of getting up and getting on with things for the sake of the family, your instinct is just to get into bed, turn out the light, pull yourself into a foetal position and not come out again

Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson on the personal effects of the ongoing scandal surrounding his wife Iris

Each day brings a new set of prognosis on which a judgment has to be made and this information is then disseminated. In terms of statements saying the weather would remain as cold, they were correct (at the time), but things change

Met Eireann defends inaccurate predictions for last weekend

Politics is never about personalities, it's about policies

New Labour councillor Killian Forde following his defection from Sinn Féin, the third councillor to do so in Dublin City

That's what happens to an actress. Once you excited men, now you shrivel them. You start off as Cinderella and you end up as the stepmother in Snow White

Actress Dervla Kirwan, who plays a vicious fashion designer in her new movie, Ondine