GAA chiefs in no rush to decide on Croke Park role in 2008

THE GAA is in no hurry to respond to the Government's request for Croke Park to be made available for the 2008 European Soccer championships, association chiefs said yesterday.

Confirming that the Government had made a formal approach , GAA president Sean McCague said the issue of the stadium's use by other sports would be debated during a special congress on the weekend after nex The management committee and the central council would consider the Government's request , at a date yet to be specified.

"The use of the pitch [for other sports] is determined by the rule which states that only congress can change it. I think everybody is quite clear that is the situation," he said at Croke Park.

"I don't know whether the management committee or central council would feel empowered to do anything other than wait."

In answer to a question, Mr McCague said the letter received from the Government did not request a decision to be made by a specific date.

In the meantime, a recommendation that the GAA should re-draft Rule 42 "as soon as the new pitch in Croke Park had proved its stability" is one of over 300 from the strategic review committee that will not be debated at the special congress.

Mr McCague said it was the committee's own decision not to put this motion forward, on the basis that to do so now "would give it no chance".

"There would be objections on the basis that there is a new pitch in place and we don't know if it would stand the test or whatever. I think it is strategic from their point of view that the motion would have a better chance in the long term,'' he said.

Mr McCague readily accepted that the controversial recommendation to have Dublin field two inter-county football teams was more or less "dead in the water". "It's not an issue being debated at this juncture... The issue really is what's best for the games in Dublin.''

In fact, no recommendations on the proposed re-structuring of the association in Dublin will come before delegates at the special congress.

Discussions on the issues that the SRC want tackled and the structures they feel are necessary are "on-going", he said. "There is a fair level of agreement that there is a lot of work yet to be done by both sides in relation to what has to be undertaken.''