Croke Park given plan on reward for players

The future of amateurism and reward for players is currently topical within the GAA, particularly in the light of tomorrow's Gaelic Players Association (GPA) a.g.m. in Dublin. One man with financial experience of the more pressured end of the market has made an interesting submission to both the GAA and the Department of Finance.

Eamonn Duignan was the founder chairman of the Leitrim Supporters Club in 1986 and played a significant role in fund-raising for the most successful decade in the county's history.

In his submission, "Three Issues for the GAA", Duignan proposes an escalating mileage rate for inter-county players - 50c this year, 75c next year and €1 in 2005 - backed by an undertaking from the Minister for Finance that this mileage would not be taxable.

Funds necessary to meet these costs would come from central coffers and county treasurers would verify the amounts being claimed. Duignan goes further in that he believes Central Council should be more active in keeping county boards in good financial order.

"County board officers should be concentrating on promoting the games and not spending their valuable time fund-raising," he said.

It is also suggested that the Minister for Finance exempt players from being taxed on any ancillary income or indirect benefit arising from their membership of the association: e.g., sponsorship work or media analysis.

Duignan bases this argument on an extension of section 195 of the Taxes Consolidation Act - generally known as the creative artists' exemption - on the grounds that Gaelic games are of similar cultural merit.

In order to fund the mileage rates for intercounty players, he proposes a restructuring of the National Football League and championship which would mean more matches, guaranteeing 14 fixtures to all counties on successive weeks between February and May.

This would create a more satisfactory programme for counties and also generate additional revenue. At the conclusion of the league, each province would have four semi-finalists for their championships. These would be run from June.

Duignan acknowledges that to conduct the league on 14 consecutive weeks would create administrative difficulty, and that's without taking into account the needs of the hurling season.

The final issue he addresses is that of the planning laws. He believes the increasing difficulty of securing planning permission in rural areas will lead to depopulation and dereliction within 20 years in these areas.