GAA:GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell gave a polished performance in front of the Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Sports and Tourism this afternoon in their attempt to find answers why the Minister proposes cutting the inter-county player grant scheme.
Farrell was flanked by several inter-county players, Cavan hurler Mark McEntee, GPA player welfare officer Dara McGarty and Westmeath hurler John Shaw, while presenting the GPA’s case regarding the €3.5million player grant that was promised through the Irish Sports Council but was never “ring-fenced” after initial agreement was reached between the Government, the GAA and GPA.
“This was the first condition of the agreement, it's there in black and white, and that the funding was promised to come through the Irish Sports Council,” Farrell explained to the Committee.
“Now we have a situation where scheme has been absolutely savaged, it has been undermined, and what we want to know is why funds for this scheme were not ring-fenced.”
“I say again this funding was supposed to come through the Irish Sports Council and we need to know why this funding has not been ring-fenced.
Earlier today the GAA said it was prepared to recognise the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) and provide it with funding, but is not ready to commit to donating a “fixed percentage of annual income”, as demanded by the GPA. Such a contribution, it said, would jeopardise internal cohesion in the association and compromise its financial integrity.
While refusing to commit to a fixed contribution, the association insisted it was prepared to provide the GPA with administrative funding, office accommodation, representation on national committees and to “develop joint GAA/GPA sponsorships and opportunities for the benefit of our players and indeed the wider association”.
The association’s position on the dispute was outlined at Croke Park, ahead of Farrell’s appearance in front of a Oireachtas Committee.
The GPA last weekend instructed its members to boycott television interviews in the aftermath of both the Munster football and Leinster hurling finals in a bid to force the GAA to accede to its demand for five per cent (€2million) of the association’s annual commercial income.
Talks on recognition of the GPA as the official voice of players had largely broken down on the issue of funding with the players’ union looking for a minimum of five per cent of the GAA’s national commercial income.
In 2008, those income streams totalled €43,214,768, five per cent of which would amount to €2,160,738.40. According to the GPA, this type of percentage is at the lower end of the scale when compared with funding for players’ organisations in other sports, such as the PFA in England and the AFLPA in Australia, which typically runs from five to 15 per cent.
However, the GAA is adamant such an agreement cannot be made due to the unpredictability of the revenue streams of an amateur organisation and insists any contribution to the GPA will have to adhere to a “project based funding model”.
“Under such a model, appropriate initiatives for inter county players would be approved and delivered based on an assessment in terms of value for money, affordability and their overall benefit to the playing body,” the statement read.
The GAA “can only do so on the basis of the GPA‘s existence as an integral part of the association”.
It continued: “The GAA simply cannot provide funding for any unit or body based purely on a fixed percentage of annual income. The association already has a substantial fixed annual overhead that must be met from revenue sources that are unfixed, unpredictable and subject to significant alteration due to factors outside the association’s control.
“The GAA has to act responsibly in its financial management, and cannot place its financial welfare at risk by committing itself to a permanent arrangement of the kind sought.”
It added that comparisons with organisations were “of limited relevance” due to the amateur status of the association and the fact it does not” exist to make a profit”.