John O’Mahony backs grant scheme

Former TD and All-Ireland- winning Galway manager John O’Mahony has called for the Government grant scheme for GAA players to be restored to “at least” its original status.

The Irish Examiner revealed this week that the Gaelic Players Association, who administer the grants to inter-county players, are pushing for close to €7m in state funding to bolster the scheme.

The Government initially made €3.5m available to the GPA in 2007 at the outset of the programme, though that figure has since been reduced to €900,000 in line with the economic difficulties that followed.