John Costello: ‘If Dublin got the full €56m, it wouldn’t be enough’
Ten Dublin GAA clubs topped out with the maximum grant of €150,000 — only one club outside the capital received that amount — but Costello believes such carping conveniently ignores the capital’s issues of scale.
“I know that if Dublin alone got the full €56m allocation, it would still not be enough for the sporting needs of juveniles alone in this city. There are a number of factors which are unique to Dublin clubs and sporting organisations, but let’s look at this from a GAA perspective. I am aware that land cannot be bought from these grants but, as mentioned elsewhere in this report, the cost and [lack of] availability of land is a critical factor in this county and this has a knock-on impact across the finances and facilities of every single club.”
He said the Cuala GAA club, which launched its 2018–2022 strategic plan last week, underlined the issues going forward by revealing there is only enough suitable land left in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area for eight more pitches in the next 100 years. “Those eight pitches are to cover all local sports’ needs. Currently, there are 50 clubs in the area between Gaelic games, rugby and soccer. No other county faces this kind of vista. Cuala’s own training bill runs to tens of thousands on rent because of the acute shortage of space — and this is just to train.
“Most rural clubs are well established over decades and have pitches and facilities long since in place in their parishes. There is nothing like the pressure of lack of land which is prevalent in Dublin. The bigger Dublin projects are mostly for all-weather surfaces. This is not a luxury but a necessity. The pressure on the existing pitches is so great that the only solution is all-weather surfaces that can be in constant use for both training and playing.
“What would cost €100,000 in Dublin might be realised for a little more than half of that in rural Ireland. A euro invested by the Government in Dublin is better value due to the large population and the realistic opportunity to increase participation.
“I would never apologise to anybody for a single cent of grant aid received in this city. Instead, I would congratulate those who have the vision, who plan, who budget and who give of their time to ensure their club is improved — or as is often the case — is assisted in providing the basic facilities to keep the club going. These people are to be lauded — they are doers and achievers. They get out on the pitch and hurl rather than sit on the ditch and carp.”
Costello also called on the State to use the upturn in our economy to engage with Nama with regard to possible landbanks that could be directed into the ownership of sporting organisations for development.
“It is rare for any land or space to become available at all [to GAA clubs] and, when it does, it is often at a hugely prohibitive cost. As Nama continues to wind down, perhaps it would be an idea to sit down and review what remains in their portfolio. There could be huge benefit in the Government liaising with the GAA and other sporting organisations in drawing up an inventory of potentially available assets and then identifying where the critical shortfall of facilities are in the country. A short to medium-term plan could then be devised to address the issue... Sports organisations would get increased facilities, taxpayers’ money would be used for social good and the spin-off of healthy activity etc. would be of benefit to the local communities.
“As an organisation that reaches into most corners of every county, and now with a huge presence abroad, I feel the GAA is uniquely positioned to be a positive conduit in the development of social progress of this country. The GAA network is like no other. In many communities, it is the very glue that binds.”
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