Cullen says €1m is the best he can offer

THE FUTURE of the Government grants scheme for intercounty players was in further disarray last night when the Minister for Sport Martin Cullen expressed his “disappointment” at the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) rejection of his latest proposal to fund the scheme for 2009, albeit in a significantly reduced manner.

Cullen last night told The Irish Times that €1,050,000 was the most he could set aside for the scheme and said he simply wasn’t in a position to make a better offer. He said it was “generous and more than comparable to the funding provided by the Government to athletes in all other sports”.

The nature of the revised scheme, however, goes against what the GPA were looking for in that it generally caters for the more successful or elite counties. Under the proposal, only 600 intercounty players from up to 20 of the successful counties in the championship would get a share of the revised total of €1,050,000.

“I wouldn’t call it elitist perhaps in the way the word is being used,” said Cullen. “It will benefit over 600 players, and 20 counties, and I wanted to avoid this being seen just to benefit the Kilkennys and Kerrys and whatever. That’s why I drilled the scheme down to make sure the lower counties went in, and brought the Christy Ring Cup in, and the four losing Round Four qualifiers in football.

“I would also think in the context of it, the total we give to all athletes, in 16 other sports, is €2 million. So I think in the circumstances to offer €1 million exclusively to GAA players is more than generous, and I think it’s very fair.

“I’ve put this framework in place, but if the GPA came back and said they’d prefer we broke it down another way, then I’d be happy to do that.”

But the total of just over €1 million is the best he can offer: “Yes, and already I’ve had other organisations on looking for it, if they don’t want it. It’s a lot of money in the way we spend money on athletes, going in one very specific direction.”

Cullen stopped short of saying it was a take-it-or-leave-it offer: “There is no more room for manoeuvre in terms of funding, to be honest. But I also gave them a guarantee that this is sustainable, that the amount would continue going forward, even withstanding all the economic difficulties, this is defendable.

“But for the moment it’s as good as it gets. I’m not closing any doors, or trying to put any time lengths in people’s face. I want all players to reflect on it.”

Earlier yesterday, the Department of Sport’s plan to reduce the annual funding of the intercounty player grant scheme from €3.5 million to €1 million was strongly condemned by the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) chief executive, Dessie Farrell. Farrell told a Joint Oireachtas Committee that Minister Martin Cullen’s plan to reduce the funding by over 70 per cent is “very difficult to justify”.

He told the committee that the €3.5 million player grant was promised through the Irish Sports Council but was never “ring-fenced” after initial agreement was reached between the Government, the GAA and GPA last November.

“This was the first condition of the agreement, it’s there in black and white, and that the funding was promised to come through the Irish Sports Council,” Farrell explained to the committee.

“Now we have a situation where the scheme has been absolutely savaged, it has been undermined, and what we want to know is why funds for this scheme were not ring-fenced.”

Committee chairman Pat Gallagher said in light of cross-party support for the GPA’s plight and the “value” players give to society he would ask the Minister to review the decision.

Cullen's proposals for 2009

FOOTBALL: 33 teams participate in the All-Ireland championship. The following grant system is proposed:

Two All-Ireland finalists: 60 players @ €2,500 each = €150,000

Two losing semi-finalists:60 players @ €2,000 each = €120,000

Four losing quarter-finalists:120 players @ €1,750 each = €210,000

Four losing Round Four qualifiers: 120 players @ €1,000 each = €120,000

Total for Football = €600,000

HURLING: 12 teams participate in the All-Ireland championship. Eight others participate in the Christy Ring Cup. The following grant scheme is proposed:

Two All-Ireland finalists: 60 players @ €2,500 each = €150,000

Two losing semi-finalists: 60 players @ €2,000 each = €120,000

Two losing quarter-finalists: 60 players @ €1,750 each = €105,000

Winners of the Christy Ring Cup:30 players @ €1,500 each = €45,000

Runners-up in the Christy Ring Cup: 30 players @ €1,000 each = €30,000

Total for Hurling:€450,000

TOTAL: €1,050,000.