Munster chief quizzes county spending

Munster chief executive Pat Fitzgerald had questioned whether council funding given to Clare and Waterford for their stadia was actually spent on the intended purposes.

In his annual report he wrote: “Over the years this council has allocated grants to Clare and Waterford toward maintenance and upkeep of their respective county grounds, I am somehow sceptical that this funding was at all times spent on such projects.

“I believe in future before allocating such grants we should work with these counties to decide how these monies are spent and identify what issues or work we want prioritised.”

Finance is a pressing matter for the Munster Council and Fitzgerald stated they must have a role in the next round of TV rights talks.

“When it comes up for renewal (in late 2013), I believe that this council should be directly involved in these negotiations. We need to be careful in determining the future of our games so that those patrons who directly support our games by attending them are considered first.

“Also we need to be able to quantify the exact monitory value of both sponsorship and TV rights for our Munster games.

“On this issue we are shown on the GAA accounts to receive ‘Central Council Funding’ a term which I have issues with as these are moniesgenerated through Munster GAA games by sponsorship, TV rights, etc and on the coaching and games side of the house, through initiatives and actual involvement in our province.”

Fitzgerald provides evidence of the Munster Council’s support toTipperary for capital development in light of county secretary Tim Floyd’s criticism of the body for notcontributing more funds to Dr Morris Park’s development.

“It is disappointing for the council to see one such county publicly berating this council for not adding to this funding for their particular centre.”

He also maintains the Munster Council can no longer afford tocontinue giving counties 15% field rental while term ticket schemesremain. He said: “It must be one or the other.”