Kenny admits being ‘hit hard’ by crash ahead of Newstalk debut

Broadcaster Pat Kenny has said it's "no secret" that he was hit hard by Ireland's economic crash.

Kenny, who several weeks ago sparked a media stir by moving from RTÉ to Newstalk, said that as a freelance broadcaster he must look after his own pension and future.

"You make investments, they look good at the time, they didn't turn out so well. And I'm not unique in that respect," he said in an inteview with TV3. "Yes I was hit hard...but I'm not sinking".

He denied that his decision to join Newstalk was motivated by money or “soured” relations with the national broadcaster.

Kenny maintained the Newstalk deal will not financially sort him “particularly differently” than the way RTÉ would have, in spite of widespread speculation that he received a significant pay bump for the switch.

He said money wasn’t the issue but refused to confirm how much the radio station is paying him.

“It was the combination between the amount of work that I would be required to do between Primetime and the radio show,” he said while adding that he felt it wasn’t possible to maintain quality with such a high workload.

“I didn’t think I could do justice to either format on an ongoing basis over a period of years,” he said.

Kenny added that he had left RTÉ on very good terms and the possibility of returning there to work on television wasn’t ruled out.

His new show debuts on Monday and Newstalk, which is owned by Denis O'Brien's company Communicorp, have spent more than €1 million on an advertising campaign to promote it.

Gas and energy supplier, Energia, has also agreed to sponsor the 10am to 12.30pm slot for a reported six figure sum.