In his address on Saturday, Sean McCague said he would be examining the hurling season to see if the current calendar best suited the game. This would have to include an appraisal of the inter-county championship, which from next year will feature at least two matches for most senior teams.
HURLING: "Each county committee ... must have a development plan for hurling. It is no longer acceptable for a county to pay lip-service to hurling because Gaelic football is the dominant sport.
"One wonders, however, if financial investment and human resources are enough in themselves and if the time has come for us to meaningfully examine our master fixture structure. It is an issue I intend to address in the coming year.*SRA
DISCIPLINE: "It is obvious to all that one of the biggest problems facing us is the lack of respect for our referees. Those who are charged with recruiting referees cite this as the greatest barrier to the recruitment, training and promotion of referees. The abuse does not necessarily come from players but from people on the sideline. This includes officials, team mentors and supporters. It is shocking to observe that some of the worst abuses occur at underage games, where we should be setting an example for young people. "The abuse is not confined to match days. There are reports of referees receiving abusive telephone calls to their homes. This is utterly unacceptable and it is incumbent on us to act in these situations when we can.
"It is clear such incidents on GAA fields receive far more publicity than similar incidents in other sports. But instead of claiming to be victims we should strive to ensure any breakdowns are limited and that our critics are deprived of the opportunity to attack and deride us."
AMATEUR STATUS: "I fear there is a growing contradiction and an a la carte attitude from many of our members and officer boards towards amateur status and the Amateur Status Report. It is obvious some club and county officers are not only allowing payments to be made to coaches and team managers, but are actively and knowingly participating in a clear breach of the rules of the association.
FISCAL RECTITUDE: "While sponsors are welcome and very much appreciated, their involvement inevitably runs its course and counties may find it very difficult to secure a suitable replacement. Also there appears to be a belief that spending money on a team is the only route to success. This is, of course, nonsense.
"While our county teams are the shop window, it is important too we keep the cupboards and shelves inside well stocked and we cannot do that if everything is spent on decorating the shop window."
FIXTURES: "It is important we settle on the format of our National Leagues and championships for several years ahead and establish a national fixtures calendar that will allow counties to cater for the needs of all players. We simply must make space for the playing of club games. "I believe the initiatives, for example, of greater use of extra time, which were taken to meet the fixtures problems created by the foot-and-mouth crisis can be utilised more widely in achieving the right balance between the needs of club and county fixtures.
"With the approval of Coiste Bainisti (Management Committee), it is my intention after this congress to establish a work group to make proposals to Ard Comhairle (Central Council) on: the relevance and value of each competition - apart from the championships and leagues - which make up our yearly programme at inter-county level; revising our programme and calendar of games in the context of meeting the need of both clubs and counties; how to reestablish the status of the National Leagues."
PLAYERS' COMMITTEE AND GPA: "It may be of general interest that in the last year £8.5 million was recorded and accounted as expended on players, mostly inter-county players."
TEACHERS: "Irrespective of the conflicting messages about teachers reflected in sections of the media lately, we should not lose sight of the fact that very many post-primary teachers give outstanding commitment to the GAA. The work of the committed schoolteacher must be appreciated and acknowledged, and indeed rewarded. All units of the association should be acutely aware of their duty in relation to their local schools."
