The GAA's recent decision not to delete Rule 21, prohibiting members of the northern security forces from joining the association, will either have consequences for the balance of the £20 million grant from National Lottery funds towards the redevelopment of Croke Park, announced in the last budget, or force the redrafting of major legislation.

The Equal Status Bill, due before the Oireachtas within a few months, will if it reflects the draft of the previous government, prohibit a body guilty of discrimination from receiving grants or loans from public funds, prevent it from being given a certificate of registration under the Registration of Clubs Act and bar it from the use of publicly-owned facilities that are intended for recreation.

Both the Equal Status Bill and the Employment Equality Bill - the constituent parts of the two-bill package on equal status legislation - were referred to the Supreme Court after being passed by the last Dail and Seanad. The court knocked down the bills in relation to provisions concerned with disability. The current Government gave an undertaking that it would implement both Bills after making the necessary adjustments to accommodate the Supreme Court ruling.

At present the Employment Equality Bill is before the Dail and shows no significant changes to that drafted by the then Minister for Equality and Law Reform, Mervyn Taylor. Should the Equal Status Bill show a similar resemblance to its predecessor, it will outlaw discrimination on grounds of gender, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Travelling community.

Discrimination is classified as both direct and indirect. It provides, for example, that " . . .discrimination occurs where, on any discriminatory grounds, an organisation consisting wholly or mainly of persons in respect of whom the grounds apply, or having as its object the furtherance of the interests of such persons, is treated less favourably than an organisation consisting mainly or wholly of persons in respect of whom the grounds do not apply, is treated."

Given that the RUC is a predominantly Protestant force, a ban on its members joining the GAA looks to be discriminatory under the terms of the original Bill and possibly under the terms of the planned equal status legislation.

In order for the GAA to avoid being categorised as discriminatory would take a substantial piece of re-drafting. The Irish Times put two questions to the office of the Department of Equality and Law Reform. They were referred to the press office of the Department of Justice which now has responsibility for Equality and Law Reform.

1) Has there been any reconsideration of the terms of the Equal Status Bill in the light of the confirmation of Rule 21 in the GAA's official guide by the recent special congress?

2) If not, will the Bill be the same as that drafted by the previous government, apart from the amendments arising from the Supreme Court judgment?

Noel Waters, a spokesperson for the Department, replied as follows:

"No bill has gone to Government yet. No proposals in relation to that Bill have gone to Government yet. It is in the course of being developed here in the department. We wouldn't talk about what might or might not be in a Bill in advance of it going to Government. The actual proposals on the Bill are being addressed here in the department at the moment."

Yet, as mentioned above, the Employment Equality Bill was not altered beyond taking account of the Supreme Court ruling so there is no logical reason why the companion Bill should change.

Were the GAA to be found in breach of the Bill's provisions, the impact would be to put a halt on the distribution of the lottery grant announced last December. Of the £20 million allocated, £13 million has yet to be actually handed out and its future would plainly be in the balance.

Furthermore, inability to register under the Registration of Clubs Acts would mean GAA clubs would be prohibited from securing licences to serve drink.

If this is to be avoided, the Government will have to amend the legislation as originally planned.

An independent agency will police the equality legislation and it will up to that agency to enforce the provisions of the legislation. Last week the GAA said that they had no comment to make on the possibility of legal action being taken on the basis of the retention of Rule 21.

The possibility of further complications comes a week after Ulster Unionist councillor Chris McGimpsey announced that he was discussing with solicitors the possibility of bringing the Irish Government to Europe under the European Convention on Human Rights because of their continued financial support for the GAA.

Gary McMichael and the Ulster Democratic Party also launched a campaign aimed at persuading the GAA's main sponsors, Guinness and the Bank of Ireland, to impose sanctions on the association. Neither sponsor acceded to the request, citing a reluctance to get involved in the internal affairs of the GAA as they were sponsoring specific competitions only.