Gavin Cummiskeyfinds that the Gaelic Players Association are not alone in expressing disappointment at the seeming demise of the scheme

THE GAELIC Players Association has questioned whether the Government were ever serious about the players' grant scheme in the wake of comments by Minister for Art, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen in Dáil Éireann on Wednesday.

Responding to questions from Fine Gael TD and Mayo football manager John O'Mahony, Cullen noted the amount of money already pumped into the country's three main sporting organisations is already substantial - it was €14.8 million in 2008 and that includes the €3.5 million allocated for intercounty players in 2008.

In short, the grant scheme was the primary reason behind an increase of funding for the Sports Council in 2008 so a last in, first out policy appears to be the Government's thought process.

In the recent Budget, funding to the Sports Council was reduced from €57.631 million to €53.026 million - a €4.6 million drop that will be significantly reduced if the player funding scheme gets shelved.

The GPA responded by calling for an eight per cent cut across the board in funding to all sporting organisations, in order to ensure the players scheme can be maintained at a reduced rate.

"Where the motivation is coming from to axe the scheme I don't know," said GPA spokesman Seán Potts yesterday.

"It is illogical and the motivation at the Government level must be questioned.

"The decision seems to have been reached on the whim of department officials. There should be cuts right across the board.

"You don't just ditch a scheme that has taken six years of negotiations to attain and is only getting off the ground this year."

It has also become apparent that the final decision will be made at Government level and not by the Sports Council, whose chief executive John Treacy refused to comment on the issue yesterday.

"It doesn't make sense," Potts continued. "It would be catastrophic for the sports department if they were to take such an action.

"We won't be engaging in megaphone diplomacy but will begin a very intense lobbying process to highlight the political ramifications once the players draw down on the 2008 funding in the next fortnight."

The GAA came out in support of the GPA stance yesterday - a mildly surprising gesture considering the constant road blocks they created during that six-year negotiation process, as they strived to ensure the associations amateur status remained sacrosanct.

"The GAA has expressed its disappointment at comments made in Dáil Éireann yesterday by Cullen," read a Croke Park statement, "in which he cast doubt on future funding for the Government's annual team performance and support schemes for the development of excellence in hurling and Gaelic football.

The president of the association, Nickey Brennan, said it was his hope that the Government would continue to honour the terms of the agreement reached in November last year and that the schemes as rolled out in 2008 had been an appropriate recognition of the contribution of senior intercounty players to the social, economic and cultural life of the nation."

Representatives from Fianna Gael and the Labour party also voiced their concern and objection to the complete dismantling of additional funding for inter-county players in the wake of the the 2009 budgetary cuts.

"There will be ongoing discussion but you wouldn't have to be a magician to realise they could be gone," said O'Mahony. "What should be noted is many players lose out on career opportunities because of their commitment to football or hurling.

"Reading between the lines of what Minister Cullen said yesterday, and rating between one and 10, I would say the scheme has a less than five chance of surviving. If he (Cullen) knows differently he should tell us.

"If they do go in 2009, it shows they were never in support of it in the first place."

Stance on scheme

"While I would like to be in a position to provide the maximum amount of resources to every player or athlete in every sport, the resources available to me are finite. Taxpayers have invested vast resources in the three largest sports organisations, the Gaelic Athletic Association, Football Association of Ireland and Irish Rugby Football Union. While there is nothing wrong with this, I am convinced that with relatively small sums of money we could achieve much greater success, including at Olympic and world level, in a large number of sports. However, I do not have unlimited resources."

- Martin Cullen (Minister for Art, Sport and Tourism, speaking in Dáil Éireann)

"Perhaps people at large do not understand that elite senior intercounty players have very little flexibility in their jobs with regard to overtime. A cost analysis was done in recent years that examined how much players lose from their income. It is important that we continue to recognise their input."

- John O'Mahony (Fine Gael TD)

"Where the motivation is coming from to axe the scheme I don't know. It is illogical and the motivation at the Department level must be questioned. The decision seems to have been reached on the whim of Department officials. There should be cuts right across the board. You don't just ditch a scheme that has taken six years of negotiations to attain and is only getting off the ground."

- GPA spokesman Seán Potts

"Even in depression we have to look at the entertainment value they provide. It would be a retrograde step to dissolve the scheme, especially considering the relatively small amount of money they are receiving when one considers how much they give back to society. It would be an error."

- Jack Wall (Labour TD)

"The president of the association, Mr Nickey Brennan, said it was his hope that the Government would continue to honour the terms of the agreement reached in November last year and that the schemes as rolled out in 2008 had been an appropriate recognition of the contribution of senior intercounty players to the social, economic and cultural life of the nation. He said the GAA would be talking to the GPA in the coming days in relation to the matter."

- GAA statement

"No decision on the budget has been made for next year but the harsh reality is the budgetary increases for 2008 more or less covered the GPA grant, now new ways have to be found to fund it for 2009."

- Sports Council spokesman Paul McDermott Main Sports Council

Grant allocations for 2008

Total: €57.631m (now reduced to €53.026m)

Anti-doping €1 million

Government body grants €13m

High performance €5.9m

Carding scheme €2.6m

GAA, IRFU, FAI, GPA €14.8m

Local sports funding €5.5m

Woman in sport €2.5m

National training centre (NCTC) €1.9m