Laois woman Claire Byrne returns to radio with Newstalk with grilling of 'not fazed' Taoiseach

Mountrath woman Claire Byrne returned to the airwaves for the first time since leaving RTÉ with an interview on Newstalk with An Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

Speaking to the Laois woman on The Claire Byrne Show, Mr Martin said he paid little attention to opinion polls after being asked Fianna Fáil's slump to 15% in the opinion polls. 

“I don't really get fazed by those poll. I mean, the bottom line is, if you go back to a month or two before the last General Election, we were at 17% in the polls. It means nothing; okay, it means something.

“I don't want to be too dismissive, but it seems to me the three bigger parties in our system are in and around 20%," he said.

The Cork politician also spoke about the housing crisis.

"We did a lot in the last 12 months that was not eye-catching. But we’re laying the foundation stones and 36,000 (new homes) is a significant number,’’ he said.

Claire was also joined by Hollywood actor Colm Meaney, Grammy award-winning artist Cian Ducrot and abuse survivor David Ryan. Claire’s first programme also featured a conversation with Donald Trump’s spiritual advisor Pastor Mark Burns and an investigative report on Tusla.

Opening her new show, Claire Byrne spoke about her return to the commercial station after a long stint with RTÉ.

"Long-time listeners might remember that I was here before, but it’s 15 years since I last sat in this studio, and I am delighted to be back. I hope that over the coming days, weeks and months, we will get our head around the day’s events together – talk about it, analyse it, find out what is going on in your life and have plenty of fun along the way. So, let’s get to it,’’ she said.

MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Pictured Claire Byrne.

Actor Colm Meaney spoke about the US, claiming it was a "terrifying" place to be and said the Trump administration was engaging in "naked fascism now".

He also spoke about plans to move home.

"I mean, we can’t stay in America at the moment. And my kids, one is in New York, one is in London; the one in New York is hoping to move.’’

"While Dublin is 'home turf’', Meaney added he could be 'tempted' by other 'beautiful places' around Ireland.

READ ALSO: Irish broadcaster Claire Byrne opens up about why she left RTÉ

Eric Moylan, Newstalk Managing Editor, said the new schedule launch is incredibly exciting.

"It’s the biggest schedule change the station has undergone since our launch in 2002 and is the culmination of many months of work from a massive amount of people. This new era sets us up to grow our audience in the coming months and years and reach new highs as we strengthen our output from Monday to Sunday.

"All our production teams have been working incredibly hard, placing the listener and what matters to them at the centre of that effort. We can’t wait to share our new schedule, not just today but in the weeks and months ahead. So, tune in and enjoy," he said.

The station's new weekday lineup includes Anton Savage anchoring Newstalk Breakfast, Claire Byrne at mid-morning, and Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman relocating to The Hard Shoulder.