GAELIC GAMES/Player welfare grants:The Government has rejected the submission for player welfare grants recently agreed between the GAA and the Gaelic Players Association (GPA).

In a statement, sports minister John O'Donoghue said the submission had failed to consider the exact position of the €5 million due to be made available for such grants, and therefore couldn't be considered in its current format.

Both the GAA and GPA met separately with the Minister yesterday, and were told that the only Government money promised in the first place was for GAA infrastructural projects or games development, which in theory would then free up GAA funds to be directed towards the player welfare grants. This, claims the Minister, wasn't properly addressed in the submission.

By throwing the deal back on the GAA's table the Minister has effectively killed off the chances of any grants coming through in the near future. Even if the GAA were to agree Government funding for infrastructural projects it would be impossible for them to simply divert the money for player welfare grants.

Yet this, said the Minister, was the only way out: "While I have already indicated that an amount of €5 million could be set aside," said O'Donoghue, "I have once again reiterated the point made to the GAA in earlier correspondence, that it would be premature to lock ourselves into any particular funding mechanism or to formally commit to any specific amount of such funding, until such time as detailed cost proposals have been submitted by the GAA under the headings of infrastructure and games development.

"The department does not intend to provide direct funding to meet the costs of either direct grants to GAA players or of player welfare policies as the knock-on effects of such an arrangement across all other sports would be detrimental to sports development. This position was made clear in correspondence sent to the GAA during the time that the GAA and GPA were framing their proposal," the statement continued.

"Responsibility for player welfare issues rests with the GAA in the same manner as similar player welfare issues in other sports must be dealt with by the responsible National Governing Body of Sport.

"I have indicated I am prepared to make funding available, on an annual basis, which will facilitate the GAA in freeing up existing monies within the association to meet the additional costs of agreed player welfare supports in the event that an agreement is reached between the GAA and the GPA on the issue of additional player welfare supports.

"This funding can be provided either through the existing Sport Capital Programme in respect of prioritised infrastructural projects or through additional funding by the Irish Sports Council in respect of games development. A combination of both may also be applied and the GAA have been aware of this position for some time."

The Minister concluded that he was confident "the GAA will reassess the submission it made with the GPA now that we have discussed the framework and parameters for progressing the matter and that the association has been sufficiently re-apprised of my position on this matter."

However, a GAA spokesman expressed major doubts about how that route could be pursued, taking money for one thing and spending it on another - the folly of which was obvious. A statement was also issued on the matter: "The GAA is disappointed its detailed and costed submission in regard to grants for intercounty GAA players which is supported by the GPA has been rejected by the Minister for Sport.

"The submission was made at the invitation of the Minister and following detailed discussions and agreement with the players body. Despite the fact the payment of grants to intercounty players was an initiative of the GPA, and was encouraged by Government representatives for a considerable period, Minister O'Donoghue is now saying it is a matter for the GAA themselves to pay these grants through some undefined funding mechanism, in addition to its increased expenditure and significant commitment to player welfare.

"The GAA will be discussing the Minister's decision with the GPA shortly."

Surprisingly, the GPA was still seeing yesterday's developments in a positive light: "We were under that impression all along that the €5 million would be made available to the GAA so they could free up other funds for the player welfare domain," said Donal O'Neill, the GPA's commercial manager.

"Our submission was all about the breakdown of those funds, and how the grants would be disseminated. So I think at this stage any further clarification that is needed is an issue for the GAA and the Government. We've done all we can. The Minister told us to go away and agree the mechanism for this with the GAA, and that's all we've done. But the idea of these grants is still alive, until we hear anything else to the contrary. "