Farrell urges clarification on grant issue

GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell has called on the Government to clarify its position in relation to the players’ grants as a matter of urgency, warning that an insistence that the GAA fund the scheme would be “discriminatory”.

Sports Minister Martin Cullen indicated in the Dáil that he had no budget for the scheme and that the responsibility should lie with Croke Park to pay for it. According to Farrell, this topic has already been addressed in the course of negotiations with the Irish Sports Council and the minister’s predecessor, John O’Donoghue.

“Minister Cullen wasn’t in situ when the scheme was put in place. We’re not sure how privy he would be to exact details of the scheme. We are very aware that there is a clause in the agreement that the GAA wouldn’t be asked to step up and provide funding if there was a reduction. We’ll honour that. It was surprising to hear those comments from the minister.