A selection of this week's quotes from around the world
A bit little and a bit too late.
- Des O'Leary, husband of Sylvia O'Leary, the hepatitis C sufferer who received Government compensation estimated at €1 million.
For many people there is a sense of disenchantment with what they see and hear of that process. There is a growing feeling that the process is being removed from their actual experience of life.
- Dr Robin Eames, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, on the peace process.
The European Commission has walked away from this and left Spain and Ireland to sort this out because Commissioner Fischler couldn't take the hard political decision.
- Jason Whooley, of the Irish south and west fish producers' organisation as Spain lobbies for increased access to Irish fishing waters.
The escalation of violence by Sharon is aimed at creating a volatile atmosphere which he believes will serve him in his election campaign.
- Yasser Abed Rabbo, Palestine information minister, accuses Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, of orchestrating the violence which claimed the lives of seven Palestinians in the West Bank this week.
They have great expertise in ballistic missiles and they are the world's greatest proliferators - they will sell anything for hard cash.
- Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, amid speculation that North Korea is on the brink of developing a nuclear arsenal.
There are 12,000 trucks on provisional licenses. That is a lot. I'm worried about so many people out there, untrained.
- Séamus Brennan, Minister for Transport.
If they carried out such practises in restaurants, health and safety officials would come down on them like a ton of bricks.
- Jenny Morris, of Britain's Environmental Health Institute, accuses celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson of ignoring basic hygiene rules by mishandling food and wearing jewellery while cooking.
I am painfully aware of the boredom induced in people by banging on the same old drum.
- Bob Geldof.
We will be a party with a hard edge. We don't intend to be a party that stays in the middle and is all things to all men.
- Enda Kenny, the Fine Gael leader.
We can't hope to find real peace without forgiveness.
- Cardinal Desmond Connell, Archbishop of Dublin.
We have given up trying to cater for the private car and if people haven't worked that out yet then there is a serious problem with IQ.
- Owen Keegan, director of traffic for Dublin.
It's time for us, without regard to party, to say what every American knows: Washington is not doing enough to make America safe.
- John Edwards, Democrat senator for North Carolina.
The benchmarking report is like the Sword of Damocles hanging over us.
- Mark Fielding, chairman of employer's organisation ISME.
It's such a shock. The Clash was the greatest rock band. They wrote the rule book for U2.
- Bono, lead singer with U2, on the death of Joe Strummer, frontman for punk band The Clash.
We are here as witnesses to the possibility of normal life.
- Alfredo Cavalieri, director of the Italian orchestra which performed at the Christmas Mass in Bethlehem.
Some of our staff have been experiencing difficulties getting into villages, because they put up roadblocks and barricades at 4 p.m. because of the fear that people will come and take their blood.
- Jane Beesley, Oxfam volunteer, following rumours that Western aid agencies are collecting human blood in return for food agent spread through rural Malawi.
If God wants to take us, he will take us.
- Mohammad Ahmed, a Baghdad engineer, as Iraq resigns itself to war with the US.
If it were the case that Jonathan died out of this, his death will not have been in vain.
- Don Simms, father of Jonathan Simms, the Belfast teenager who is suffering from CJD, the human variant of mad cow disease, who is to undergo pioneering neural surgery.