Costello proposes radical GAA changes

RADICAL changes are proposed by Dublin County Board secretary John Costello in his report to the annual convention.

In an effort to upgrade the GAA in the capital he proposes the employment of 48 full-time coaches, the appointment of a Senior Development Officer, three Regional Development Officers and a Commercial and Marketing Executive.

In a lengthy review of Gaelic Games activity in the capital, Mr. Costello said some recommendations in the recently published Genesis report would not go astray in the Dublin County Board.

"In pure population terms, the administrative machinery is unrepresentative and creaking.

"At local government level the county is administered by five bodies three county councils and two corporations. In that light, it's not unreasonable to suggest that a far more extensive structure is needed to oversee the GAA's affairs.

"At present, the county board has two full-time officials and it is not unusual to find clubs under our jurisdiction who actually have more employees than the board," he continued.

"The past year was dominated by the report of the Strategic Review Committee, who reviewed the unique issues relating to Dublin, catering as it does for a population of 1.3m.

"While the conclusions were not entirely palatable, the deficiencies highlighted in our structures and administration come as no great surprise.

"It is my view that Dublin is a crucially important part of the Association, a unit with special circumstances and needs as well as of special importance to the GAA as a whole."

Continued Mr. Costello: "A major problem for the county is the lack of community. We don't have a parish rule and that leads to difficulties of identification between areas and their local club.

"Our area of responsibility also includes many social blackspots where unemployment, crime and drug misuse are all rampant. It is an area where I feel we could make some contribution but the resources required are beyond us.

"There are huge financial implications. Over the last 25 years, Dublin have consistently brought in substantially more money than other counties.

"National League final attendances are on average 60% higher when Dublin are involved, All-Ireland semi-finals 50% better attended and

Leinster Finals up by 52%. This represents substantial income for the bodies concerned.

"Unfortunately, traditional methods of disbursement are inadequate for Dublin, and we don't benefit except through the League.

"Failure to address these anomalies will ensure a crisis within the Association.

We need substantial investment in coaching and development, considerable investment in new and existing clubs, and a capital infrastructure

programme that serves the needs of our city. It is critical to the development of GAA in Dublin that substantially increased funding be made available from Leinster and Central Council to enable Dublin's plans to be implemented."