The tricky business of going through the motions

ANNUAL CONGRESS:THIS WEEKEND sees the GAA's congress taking place in Newcastle, County Down. It's a unique sort of event. No other sport attracts anything like the attention for its agms that the GAA will receive for its annual few days of intensive committee meetings, some equally intensive 'socialising', presentations, reports and most characteristically, debating motions proposing for the most part change to the association's official guide.

There has been added business this year with 49 motions on the playing rules, as this is one of the congresses – those held every five years – allowed to change the field rules of football and hurling.

Last night virtually all the proposed football changes of any significance were voted down.

The fate of the reforms joins a litany of similar outcomes, which become a recurring theme of congress: high-powered sub-committees work intensively to produce reasoned proposals for change and they get thrown out after around an hour of congress time.

The difficulty of gaining approval for even the best-thought out proposals has become a reality for all reformers. If last night has at least the merit of clarity in that there was so little support for the proposed changes, that’s not always the case.

No matter how much effort has gone in to devising proposals and no matter how much of a benefit they might bring to the association they are vulnerable to being derailed by a small and determined minorities.

The opening of Croke Park to rugby and soccer could have been approved well in advance of when it actually happened. In 2001 the reform failed by a single vote to get the necessary two-thirds majority. When eventually accepted in 2005, it was expressly for the duration of the Lansdowne Road redevelopment work.

Yet five years and €36,000,000 later, there is no longer any serious opposition to the idea and had sanity prevailed nine years ago, the GAA might have been able to benefit over a longer period. This weekend there’s no difficulty with making the derogation of consent to Central Council permanent but now with the new stadium about to open there’s no further need for Croke Park.

Last year, disciplinary reforms which had the support of a sizeable majority, 177-100, fell because of the two-thirds rule.

Initiatives to combat burnout failed to secure backing despite coming from a sub-committee comprised of many eminent healthcare professionals as well as administrators.

In fact, one motion listed for today by the St Loman’s club in Westmeath proposed that there no longer be a facility for Central Council to propose motions arising out of the work of such specialist sub-committees.

That is likely to be withdrawn but it illustrates perfectly the level of suspicion that exists between ordinary delegates and what are sometimes seen as the unfettered initiatives of Croke Park central administration.

This helps to feed often frivolous opposition stances. Jarlath Burns is a former Armagh captain, who, unusually for a well-known player, became involved with the GAA at administrative level and chaired last year’s sub-committee in charge of the association’s 125 anniversary celebrations.

He believes attitudes to such proposals should be more seriously struck.

“Proposals that have come about as the result of the work of a specialist task force. If a county is going to mandate its people on it they should be duty-bound to have a presentation from the task force or one of its members to inform them why the published conclusions were reached.

“All too often positions are come to as the result of a bit of idle chat instead of more in-depth probing into what exactly the reasoning behind it was.”

All such matters are in the hands of roughly 350 delegates of varying levels of engagement and the organisation will be left to get on with the administration of whatever is decided over the weekend.

There are different perspectives on all of this. For some it is an insane way to order the affairs of so important an organisation; for others it is the ultimate in demotic administration – the GAA’s very own log cabin to White House narrative.

Just as anyone is entitled to object to proposals, anyone can also start the ball rolling on a motion by proposing it at their club’s agm. If it survives there and gets through county convention it can be submitted to Croke Park for vetting (for procedural correctness) and listing on the clár. To succeed in changing a rule, a motion must receive two-thirds of the votes, an iron-clad lock beyond which only the least contentious ideas pass without controversy.

By now plenty of arguments have been made about the administrative efficiency of making decisions in such an arduous fashion. But that is part of the appeal even for those who balk a little at the severity of the standard.

“I would change the two-thirds rule,” says Burns. “The GAA is a pretty conservative organisation – it has to be because there’s such a delicate dynamic pervading everything it does. I think I would also have fewer delegates from each county. Special congress (which has smaller delegations) for instance is a lot more streamlined and a lot better as a result.

“I would reduce it to 60 per cent or 55 per cent. Two-thirds is asking an awful lot and I’d certainly change the situation where one third of delegates can veto change accepted by everyone else.”

Administrators have to come to terms with the limitations of what appear the best of ideas.

“There is this incredible sense of democracy, that everyone has a stake in everything that happens,” says the association’s director general Páraic Duffy. “I’m not sure it’s the best way of doing things but it’s a very democratic model. It’s also why it’s so difficult to get change through. Then again, I suppose if you ask people like me or former presidents, we’ll express a sense of frustration at how difficult it is to get things done.

“Whether this is the best way of deciding whether these (playing) rule changes are good for the games is questionable. I would wonder whether having such a big number as 350 delegates is ideal.”

Former president Nickey Brennan was a member (as was current president Christy Cooney) of the sub-committee to review congress, which reported 13 years ago, introducing such reforms as listing the club which originated the motion and inaugurating the practice of having workshops.

Brennan says that there is a case to be made for having special congresses consider playing rule changes instead of bloating the agenda of every fifth congress.

“I think that makes a lot of sense. It would give a better chance to explain what exactly is being proposed and what it’s trying to achieve. The lead-up gives people a chance to focus and the delegates that attend could be specialists in both the games and the playing rules – as distinct from other rules.

“It’s still a major exercise in democracy and gives great weight to the rule book but it can be argued that we’re putting some business before congress that might be given to central council.

“If you look at the clár you see motions coming from clubs. That had never been done before (motions were attributed to the county). One thing I feel has happened is that clubs and counties are not putting as much thought into motions and the number of motions from Central Council is huge this year .

“The other thing that was introduced that has run out of steam a little bit is the idea of the workshops. There’s a sense that we’ve got as much out of the idea as we can – except for the finance one. If you pick any of the others you can’t be sure the delegates coming from the counties have either an interest or expertise in the area and that can take from the value of the exercise.”

The surge in litigious objection has also taken its toll on the way congress operates. Whereas recourse to the courts has largely been eliminated by the setting-up of the Disputes Resolution Authority, the independent arbitration provided by the DRA has intensified rather than eliminated the fascination to identify loopholes, which can be used to evade the impact of the rulebook.

As a result the authorities, now fully conversant with procedural requirement, are constantly patching the official guide to close these loopholes.

“Increasingly congress is taken up with specific, technical proposals,” according to Duffy. “The number of motions that deal with GAA policy, ethos or strategy over the next number of years is actually very few. Annual congress is the policy-making body of the association but in recent years it has become more and more about alterations to rules, very often technical issues that have arisen during the year.”

Aside from functioning as a brake on the perceived central administrative excesses of Croke Park, what role has congress in the GAA’s 126th year?

It’s no longer a supreme decision making body, as vast amounts of both quotidian and crucial decisions are made regularly with the sanction of the Management Committee and Central Council.

As Jarlath Burns puts it, “Hundreds and thousands of decisions are made without reference to congress. This weekend there are 123 motions to congress. Are there 123 things wrong with the GAA at this particular point in time? I’m not too sure of that.

“It’s also a social event and an important one I think because for a lot of those attending the only time they meet GAA people from other counties is at matches when they’re on the opposing team – or at the DRA (!) or somewhere.

“This gives them an opportunity to meet and have a chat. It’s a celebration of the GAA, a weekend away for officialdom.

“Since I started becoming involved at that level I’ve seen there’s absolutely no comparison between the drudgery of officialdom and the excitement of the games. But someone has to be there to run the back-room for the GAA.” The question that will remain after this weekend is how useful a role congress plays in that back-room.

The Motions

Motions 1-49:Proposed playing rule changes, including the experimental rules that have been trialled in this year's national leagues.

Rejected by last night’s opening session were: the mark, the more restrictive interpretation of the hand pass, relaxation of the square-ball rule, playing on at the end of each half until the ball has gone dead all proposed by Central Council.

Congress accepted the closer-in penalty and kick-outs from the 13-metre line.

Other suggestions submitted by clubs and other units will be taken today and include the following:

The introduction of a hooter, as in women's football and international rules, to signal the end of a half or the match (this would have the added benefit should the current experiment of playing on until the ball goes dead be accepted, of letting players know that time was up – as again applies in international rules). Clonard, Wexford – Motion 40

That yellow and red cards be scrapped for hurling but not football. Glen Rovers, Cork – Motion 38

Two points to be awarded when a sideline cut is put over the bar in hurling. Toomevara, Tipperary and Armagh Harps, Armagh

Making gum shields compulsory in all matches and training sessions. Westport, Mayo – Motion 49

That video referees be appointed from senior provincial finals up to All-Ireland finals. Fr Sheehy's, Tipperary – Motion 42

Motions 50-123 concern more general issues, including the recognition of the Gaelic Players Association, consequent on last November’s agreement between the GPA and Croke Park, providing for the players’ body to come under the Croke Park umbrella and for it to receive funding for welfare initiatives.

That accord still has to be approved by congress but is recommended by motion 51, put forward by Central Council. Motion 52 from Kildress in Tyrone opposes this.

Another motion from Croke Park concerns the hurling championship, which was thrown out of kilter by a proposal accepted at last year’s congress advocating the promotion of the Christy Ring Cup winners into the following year’s MacCarthy Cup.

Under the new proposals, drawn up after an extensive consultation with the counties, there will be no relegation between the various tiers this year or in 2011 and 2012. Ring Cup winners may opt to contest the following season’s MacCarthy Cup, which as a result could expand to 16 teams by 2012 – Motion 53.

There are also five motions (from clubs in Westmeath, Meath, Kerry, Roscommon and Clare) calling on the use of Croke Park by other sports to be permanently policed by Central Council rather than require a motion to congress should a request be received from the FAI, IRFU or other organisation in the future – motions 85-89 Other general proposals include the following:

Central Council proposes to reduce the minimum congress delegation from four to two – Motion 50

A second chance for provincial champions in the All-Ireland qualifiers. County board, Tyrone and St Joseph's-O'Connell Boys/Naomh Olaf, Dublin – motions 54 and 55

Abolition of the qualifiers in the minor football championship. Central Council – motion 70

Open draw in the All-Ireland minor and under-21 championships. Trim, Meath – motions 71 and 72

Abolition of the All-Ireland junior championships and the All-Ireland intermediate hurling championship (there is no football championship at this level). Central Council – Motions 73-75

Match bans instead of time bans to be introduced. Grattan Óg, Longford – Motion 99

The practice of the Central Competitions Control Committee of referring matters back to a match referee for video re-appraisal to be scrapped and the CCCC take over the function of video review for incidents not seen by the match referee or where the incidents are considered more serious than deemed by him. Legan Sarsfields, Longford – Motion 102

That the weighted majority necessary to pass rule changes be reduced from two-thirds to three-fifths. Dublin club St Joseph's-O'Connell Boys – Motion 115

A drastic curtailing of Central Council powers is proposed in a motion that seeks to prevent the recommendations of Croke Park sub-committees being proposed by Central Council. It is considered likely this will be withdrawn before going to the floor. St Loman's, Westmeath – Motion 120