Broadcaster Ivan Yates says he's still keen to work on new things in the media despite his recent short-lived retirement
During the summer, the presenter stepped down from his roles hosting The Hard Shoulder on Newstalk and The Tonight Show on Virgin Media.
However, he'll return to screens this week as co-host of a new live sports show called The Green Room on Virgin.
Speaking to Pat Kenny, Ivan said he welcomed the opportunity to do something different.
He said: "I can't say lockdown has treated me well, but living in Enniscorthy has been absolutely fantastic.
"Once I got rested and toxed and then detoxed a bit... new opportunities started to emerge."
As well as work for the family farm, he has also gotten involved in four different businesses.
Virgin Media, meanwhile, contacted him about the live sports and entertainment programme - which is kicking off with a Christmas special this week.
He described the new programme as a 'bit of a piss-take' that will deal with the sporting issues of the day, but mainly be a bit of 'banter and craic'.
Ivan has proven a controversial figure over his broadcasting career - a reputation he embraces.
He said: "The one thing you can't be in my business is bland or boring."
He said Kieran Cuddihy is doing a 'great job' on The Hard Shoulder, and Matt Cooper and Ciara Doherty are 'belting away' on The Tonight Show.
While he still regularly tunes into his former Newstalk show, he expressed relief he no longer has to cover some of the stories that pop up on the programme.
'There's going to be a reckoning'
Of course, Ivan has his own views on many of the controversies and stories of the day - including the coronavirus crisis.
He told Pat: "I do think there's a bubble of NPHET, Government, media - and there's a world outside that.
"I think about a third of the population and workforce has thrived under COVID - they've actually made money out of it. A third are kids or pensions, really unaffected economically. And a third have lost 90% of their income.
"The notion we're all in this together just was never true.
"What's going to happen is when the restrictions and the subsidies stop... there's going to be a reckoning. A lot of SMEs... are going to find it very difficult."
He said there's a presumption by many that the debt being racked up by governments will never have to be paid - but he fears the next generation could end up 'saddled with debt' as a result of the crisis.
He observed: "This is exactly what happened during the Celtic Tiger... German pensioners through their banks were throwing money at us, and it led to all sorts of unsustainable bubbles.
"I think the seeds of the next global recession are being sewn now - we have simply printed $20 trillion, and we don't know how it's going to work out."
