Cullen defends decision to cut GAA player grants

The Minister for Sport has defended his decision to scale back funding for GAA player grants in light of the economic downturn.

The Gaelic Players Association has criticised changes that will see the grants limited to players from the most successful counties.

The overall funding is also being cut to just over €1m, less than one third of the original amount.

Minister Martin Cullen says the cut is necessary due to the state of the public finances, with no money available for the Sports Capital Programme this year.