GAA DIRECTOR GENERAL Liam Mulvihill has made a number of radical proposals in his annual report. The status of Dublin, the state of football and disciplinary matters are all touched on in a wide-ranging address to Congress which will take place this year on April 11th and 12th in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin.

The question of Dublin's status within the association has been raised quite frequently in recent times and county secretary John Costello dealt with the matter in some detail at last January's county convention.

Mulvihill takes up the issue in his report by suggesting that Dublin's Parnell Park be developed as a floodlit venue suitable for staging televised matches. The GAA appears to be moving to a position where each province will have a small ground with floodlights suitable for television and that midweek matches will be played during the winter. It is not yet clear whether the Leinster Council will be willing to choose Parnell Park as their preferred provincial venue for these purposes.

Mulvihill also cites the importance of diverting funds to Dublin and, most significantly, takes up the matter of administrative reform. "A more fundamental matter which must be addressed is the wisdom of continuing to treat Dublin as one unit for administrative purposes. Should we consider dividing the city on a similar basis to the recent local government divide which is already done in the city at underage level?"

He goes on: "Inevitably such a divide would lead to discussion about the possibility of Dublin fielding more than one team in inter-county competitions, but I believe it should not deprive us of the other advantages.

Questioned on the matter, Mulvihill said: "I would be of the opinion that Dublin should be given the status of a province and its component teams would have their own competition to see which emerged."

Among his suggestions for improving football is a development of the `two referees' idea floated at last year's Congress. As well as introducing this for all senior inter-county championship matches, Mulvihill suggests the abolition of linesmen and the appointment of an extra official to keep time and control substitutions in a designated zone.

"There is evidence from Australian Rules that the system works very well. If this were adopted, the linesmen could probably be dispensed with, so there would be no overall increase in the number of match officials."

He also envisages unrestricted rotation of players. "I feel it is inevitable that we will allow unlimited use of a set number of players within a short time," he says.

In relation to discipline, he endorses suspensions for matches rather than for a period of time and the idea of a points system being introduced to cover bookings which would penalise players who are consistently cautioned, but who escape discipline by not offending twice in the one match.

He also refers to the organisational anomaly of five separate disciplinary bodies regulating the games - a diversity which militates against consistency. "I am sure," he says, "that the possibility of having one body responsible for the appointment of all referee's, for championships and for dealing with the referees' reports will be given serious consideration."

In a reference to the proceedings that followed last September's fracas in the All-Ireland football final replay, Mulvihill also makes the point that "there could probably be more expeditious hearings even within the constraints of our present rules".

In relation to amateur status, Mulvihill again warned about the dangers of the association becoming semi-professional and the effect that would have on voluntary workers. He did, however, express support for the better treatment of players and coaches in relation to expenses.

"One way of helping all counties to have minimal standards applied for county players and coaches would be to organise a centralised commercial deal linked to inter-county playing gear with the benefits divided equally between each county."

Mulvihill also expressed some concern about the nature of the holidays being organised by some county teams, a reference to Clare's and Wexford's recent trips to Thailand and California.

"It should also be possible to allocate a little more of the sponsorship money towards a holiday fund for the teams which competed in the All-Ireland final as it is not becoming to have fund-raising on the scale of recent years. It should also be possible to organise less expensive holidays than have been embarked upon by some teams recently."