CLAIRE BYRNE HAS admitted she still hasn’t read the books gifted to her by former finance minister Paschal Donohoe, months after the exchange sparked online debate during her final RTÉ Budget phone-in.

Speaking during a wide-ranging interview on her move to recent move to Newstalk, Byrne laughed as she confirmed the books remain unopened.

“No. I shouldn’t admit that,” Byrne said, adding: “I shouldn’t be revealing that I haven’t read them.”

The books were presented to Byrne last October after her final post-Budget phone-in on RTÉ Radio One, a fixture of the broadcaster’s schedule for years.

Footage of Donohoe handing her a bag from Hodges Figgis after the live broadcast quickly circulated online, prompting speculation about the appropriateness of the gift.

“So, every year I would do the Budget phone-in on RTÉ Radio One, which is the day after the Budget, and people phone in with their questions and comments to the finance ministers,” Byrne explained.

“And on that last day, Paschal Donohoe gave me a bag, and it had two books in it, and I didn’t really look in it, because I was live on air.”

She said she was largely unaware of what was in the bag at the time.

“I didn’t really look at what was in the bag or what the books were. And then there was a bit of a kerfuffle about it, and people said that there was all sorts in the bag.”

At the time, the Department of Finance confirmed the gift was simply two books, paid for personally by Donohoe and minister Jack Chambers, and intended to mark Byrne’s final Budget programme before her departure from RTÉ.

Byrne said the controversy itself may be the reason the books are still unread.

“I think it was just him marking the end of my tenure on that programme by gifting me the books,” Byrne said.

“But because there was such a kerfuffle, I haven’t read the books.”

She revealed that one of the titles appears to focus on economics through the lens of pop  megastar Taylor Swift.

“I think one is about Taylor Swift-driven economics, and one is a more pure economics book,” Byrne said.

So I’ll have to have my pointy head on when I’m reading those books, but I haven’t read them yet.

Asked whether she was surprised by the Taylor Swift book, Byrne laughed.

“There you go. Everyone has surprises.”

The book is likely one titled The Glory of Giving Everything: The Taylor Swift Business Model, a non-fiction read which claims to “unlock the secrets to business success with the powerhouse strategies of Taylor Swift”.

It was published in July last year, and is on sale across various Irish bookstores.

Donohoe, who stepped down as finance minister in November 2025 to take up a role at the World Bank, has previously spoken publicly about being a Taylor Swift fan, describing her as “the leading artist of our era”.

Byrne was speaking to The Journal following her recent move from RTÉ to Newstalk, where she now presents the weekday 9am-12pm slot. The slot was previously hosted by Pat Kenny.

We’ll have more from the interview in the coming days.