Gaelic Games/GAA annual congress: Seven motions on the use of Croke Park, Rule 42, have been listed for next month's annual congress. All involve handing authority to Central Council in specified circumstances.
The broadest motion comes from Longford, and the only restriction it lays on Central Council is to make decisions on the use of Croke Park as "situations arise, circumstances develop or opportunities present themselves". All of the other proposals attach conditions of some sort, most prominently that the period for consideration should be during the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road.
Sligo's motion specifies "when Lansdowne Road is closed", whereas Clare's proposal is a rather clumsy, two-part motion (forced on the county by the motions committee) that a) Central Council be authorised to make decisions on the use of Croke Park, and b) that Rule 42 "be suspended for a period not exceeding three years to allow for rugby and soccer internationals to be played in Croke Park".
Wicklow club Baltinglass suggest Central Council be given the power to consider the question on a match-by-match basis while work is going on in Lansdowne Road, and that it revert to the current situation as soon as that work is complete.
The other motions stipulate that money raised by leasing the venue should be dedicated to "the promotion of Gaelic games" (Roscommon) and "used in accordance with Rule 5" (Kerry).
Roscommon also propose that the period be for three years, from 2005-08, but that the situation should be reviewed at the end of that period.
Among the other suggestions in the motions list are the loosening of eligibility rules for inter-county hurling to allow players resident in a county but playing for clubs elsewhere to declare for their county of residence, providing it meets certain criteria, such as not having won a premier adult or underage All-Ireland for 10 years (Naomh Moninne, Louth).
A motion from Tyrone proposes that the GAA's two trustees be members of an audit committee and their places on the Management Committee be given to two nominees of the president/director general. This is similar to a proposal of the Strategic Review Committee, which wasn't accepted at the 2002 Special Congress.
Meath Wolfe Tones have tabled a motion to revert to the old National League schedules of playing some matches before Christmas. The proposal is to enshrine this in rule, which requires a two-thirds majority.
There are also proposals to confine suspensions for Category B offences (the more serious physical fouls such as kicking and stamping) to the code in which they are committed and for Category C and D offences (less serious) to the code and level in which they are committed (Dunsany, Meath).
There are also motions to facilitate splitting the Games Administration Committee between its two functions of fixtures and discipline and the establishment of a central appeals committee and an arbitration system. Details will be announced next week.
