Football proposals top a heavy final agenda for McDonagh

Joe McDonagh's final duties as GAA president are set to be fairly onerous. He will chair the busiest annual congress agenda for years with 78 motions down for decision, including those dealing with the controversial proposals of the Football Development Committee (FDC).

The number of motions on the clar has been declining steadily in recent times. Last year only 16 were listed, and the only recent agenda comparable to next month's was in 1995 when 71 motions were listed.

Most attention will focus on the FDC proposals and a couple of competing suggestions, but no fewer than three official committee reports - the other two being Club Fixtures and Policy and Planning - will be put to this year's congress in Galway on April 14th and 15th.

This overload has prompted GAA director general Liam Mulvihill to question the wisdom of bringing reports to congress in the one year. He suggested that, in future, committees and workgroups might stagger their deliberations and reports.

In addition, the overhaul of disciplinary regulations adopted last year for an experimental period will be before congress for permanent approval. They will require a two-thirds majority to pass.

The FDC proposals, however, are likely to need only a simple majority. Previous experiments have been accepted on that standard, and although the ultimate decision rests with Joe McDonagh, the precedent seems clear.

Three other options for those who wish to reform the football championship come from the Cork County Board and two Mayo clubs (this year for the first time, the clubs which originally proposed motions, rather than their counties, are named).

Cork propose the retention of the league, access to the provincial championships for all counties, and a round-robin format within the provincial championships with consideration given to a losers' group.

Ballintubber's motion is to much the same effect, but it does not specify the senior championship, whereas Ballyhaunis make the case for the provision of All-Ireland quarter-finals with defeated provincial finalists progressing to that stage, as in the Munster and Leinster hurling championships.

Given that the proposals of the Mayo clubs are in conflict, an anomaly arises as it was previously invalid for a county to sponsor contradictory motions.

The disciplinary provisions up for final approval are familiar enough and include: the use of red and yellow cards in matches; the central appointment of referees to all matches, including provincial championships; the centralised imposition of discipline; and the speeding-up of due process in the matter of submission of referees' reports and responses to controversy.

Incoming president Sean McCague is the chairman of the Policy and Planning Committee, which also tables a number of motions. These cover the regulation of county conventions, specification of county officers and limitation of all county chairmen to a five-year term, the composition of county delegations to congress, and empowering county boards to appoint a full-time administrator.

Of relevance to Mulvihill's criticism of the low number of club matches available to players as "shameful" are the proposals of the Club Fixtures Committee. These include the establishment of a fixtures committee in each county, that an audit be carried out (frequency unspecified) to monitor the fixtures' programme in each county and the reduction of red tape in relation to the notice required for matches.