Madam, - Danny Lynch, PRO of the GAA, accuses me of causing an affront to the many great people who give their time so generously to the work the GAA does on behalf of young people (March 12th). He also accuses me to taking a "cheap shot" at the association.
I challenge Mr Lynch to show, in any remarks I have made, that I have in any way caused affront to or been critical of the GAA and its members. I have nothing but admiration for the great work the GAA does and, in my own small way, I like to think I have contributed to that work.
Without in any way casting aspersion on the GAA, or suggesting that it was not entitled to Government support, I compared the amount of money allocated by the Government to the GAA with the amount allocated to cancer treatment and care.
I will leave it to your readers to judge for themselves whether in making similar allocations the Government has got its priorities in order. I doubt if even Mr Lynch would argue that cancer treatment and care should not have a higher priority in the overall scheme of things.
I wish the GAA well and I wish Mr Lynch the wisdom to see that comparisons can be made that do not necessarily reflect adversely on any party in the equation. - Yours, etc.,
Dr JERRY COWLEY TD, Dáil Éireann, Dublin 2.
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Madam, - Danny Lynch has missed the point with regard to the comparison made between Government funding for the GAA and that for cancer services. Nobody disputes what the GAA contributes to the young people of this country. What is questionable is that a disease that kills one in four of our people, with statistics set to double, receives the same priority in terms of funding as a sporting organisation.
Cancer care needs a realistic budget to raise the quality of services and save lives. The remarks attributed to Dr Cowley are in no way a "cheap shot". He was simply stating that in terms of priorities there is no comparasion. - Yours, etc.,
JANE BAILEY, Dunmore East, Co Waterford.