Although Croke Park have as yet to formalise a response to the inaugural meeting of the fledgling players' association in Belfast, there are already significant steps to redress one of the issues highlighted at the launch, that of insurance schemes for players.

At the moment, however, the GAA hierarchy awaits some sort of formal contact with the association, which at the moment is almost entirely Ulster-based.

"We really have no comment for the time being, given that we have not been a party to this development and know only what has been reported through the media," offered GAA PRO Danny Lynch yesterday.

"I would point out, however, that under Joe McDonagh's presidency, a players' advisory group has been established and their brief was to collate the issues which concerned players and to relay those issues at Congress," he added.

The insurance aspect, which featured prominently in the stated aims of the players' association, is also a matter of high priority for the GAA, according to Ciaran O'Neill, who oversees the current scheme.

"It was no surprise to us that the matter was raised at the meeting and the benefits available under the GAA Injury Scheme are currently under review," he said.

That scheme is open to all affiliated players at all levels and last year, around 5,500 claims were processed, with £1.7 million in compensation paid out.

However, there are caps to the various benefits on offer, such as £100 per week for loss of wages and £1,000 for dental work.

"We know that these allowances are not sufficient and it is not unreasonable to presume that come January, those figures will be doubled," O'Neill said.

He also said that the GAA have been negotiating with commercial insurance enterprises with the view to establishing an additional personal accident insurance option for GAA players, which would be available at a cost of around £20 per annum for adults and £10 for underage players.

He predicted this scheme would offer around four times the current benefit allowances under the GAA scheme.

"What I would emphasise, respectfully, is that there are no fairy godmothers out there, and that there is nothing more hard-nosed than commercial insurance and that the whole area is profit motivated. It is just an aspect that I would hope all players would bear in mind."

He pointed out that the GAA are constantly travelling to clubs - Thomas Davis in Dublin was visited last night - to liaise with officials in relation to the insurance scheme.

It was the stated intention of the players' association to generate sufficient funding to facilitate a more comprehensive insurance scheme. Whether this would operate independently of the official scheme or in tandem with it remains to be seen.