Inter-county clashes worth €192m to Irish economy

[dublinfella]

€100 for fuel
€75 for tickets
€200 for accommodation
€85 for eating
€100 for recreational pursuits - paint balling, go-karting and the like
€150 for drink
€44 for taxis
€95 clamping fine
€2.50 for Sunday newspaper
€23 for hats, flags and cheap chocolate
€5 for match programme
€80.50 bet on the game in Boylesports on Dorset St (which obviously loses)

I assume you are somehwat tongue in cheek, but the point is that these figures would need to be fleshed out in a great deal more detail for me to accept them as anything other than cheap grandstanding for the GPA.

I still do not accept that amateur players are discriminated against by not getting money. And using out there arguments to back this up will always leave me cynical

[Zulu]

Well money spent by GAA fans on games wouldn't necessarily otherwise be spent in Ireland or spent at all. Lots of people spend money they don't readily have to attend games which they may otherwise leave in their accounts. Others might use the saved cash for a foreign holiday etc. In addition, the money you spend on food, drink, accomodation and fuel would not be otherwise spent in your local county. I don't know if €192M is a fair assessment but they certainly do add money to teh economy and are more deserving of a grant than many professional athletes in this country, especially those getting paid generously already.

[lynchbhoy]

€100 for fuel
€75 for tickets
€200 for accommodation
€85 for eating
€100 for recreational pursuits - paint balling, go-karting and the like
€150 for drink
€44 for taxis
€95 clamping fine
€2.50 for Sunday newspaper
€23 for hats, flags and cheap chocolate
€5 for match programme
€80.50 bet on the game in Boylesports on Dorset St (which obviously loses)

I assume you are somehwat tongue in cheek, but the point is that these figures would need to be fleshed out in a great deal more detail for me to accept them as anything other than cheap grandstanding for the GPA.

I still do not accept that amateur players are discriminated against by not getting money. And using out there arguments to back this up will always leave me cynical

do you think that its the stadium capacity (eg 82,200 croker) that just go out in dublin the weekend of a match?
like the rugby weekends, people will head out as its a big occasion when the pubs are fuller and theres more craic/drink/scoring to be had on these occasions. people tend to empty the savings accounts when going on the rip so dont consign the spending to just the punters with tickets for the games! there are a whole lot more than that going out and 'partying'.
Still would like to see what stats breakdown from gpa is though.

[Dougal]

i highly doubt it's adding 192m to the economy,but money is changing hands which is a good thing.there are a lot of bussinesses that are doing jobs for cost price just to keep money moving.

[Bogball XV]

Well money spent by GAA fans on games wouldn't necessarily otherwise be spent in Ireland or spent at all. Lots of people spend money they don't readily have to attend games which they may otherwise leave in their accounts. Others might use the saved cash for a foreign holiday etc. In addition, the money you spend on food, drink, accomodation and fuel would not be otherwise spent in your local county. I don't know if €192M is a fair assessment but they certainly do add money to teh economy and are more deserving of a grant than many professional athletes in this country, especially those getting paid generously already.

I think that's really the point - dublinfella has a point too, in that most of the most money seemingly generated according to this report is unlikely to have been new money introduced to the irish economy from outside.

[dublinfella]

Well money spent by GAA fans on games wouldn't necessarily otherwise be spent in Ireland or spent at all. Lots of people spend money they don't readily have to attend games which they may otherwise leave in their accounts. Others might use the saved cash for a foreign holiday etc. In addition, the money you spend on food, drink, accomodation and fuel would not be otherwise spent in your local county. I don't know if €192M is a fair assessment but they certainly do add money to teh economy and are more deserving of a grant than many professional athletes in this country, especially those getting paid generously already.

I know this is an aside, but somewhat relevant. What grants do professional sports people get?

[Zulu]

Sorry, I was referring to the tax breaks which are the professional athletes equivalent to the grant given to the GAA player. I'm not living in Ireland at the moment but they still get that don't they?

[Hound]

Sorry, I was referring to the tax breaks which are the professional athletes equivalent to the grant given to the GAA player. I'm not living in Ireland at the moment but they still get that don't they?

Yip, on retirement, they basically get to re-open 10 years worth of tax returns. 40% of their gross income received directly as a result of professional sport is then deemed to be exempt from tax, and thus they get a whopping big tax refund.

[dublinfella]

Sorry, I was referring to the tax breaks which are the professional athletes equivalent to the grant given to the GAA player. I'm not living in Ireland at the moment but they still get that don't they?

Thats not a 'grant' though. It costs the taxpayer nothing and attracts players to Ireland who might not come here otherwise. They get most, but not all of their tax back over up to 10 years and it is capped.

Grants for GAA players are a direct cost to the exchequer. It appears, like everything, it will be cut. And I don't see why an amateur soccer, rugby or tiddlywinks player wasn't eligible.

Long and short of it, there is no equivalence between an amatuer and a pro in any field, and to want amatuers to get a grant because professionals have a tax exemption to me makes zero sense. Should someone who enjoys painting or strumming a guitar get a grant because professional artists do?

[haranguerer]

Can someone explain to me how they 'add' money to the Irish economy?

I understand that they add money to local economies when people go to places they wouldn't go to for games, but what they appear to be claiming is €192m is being added to GDP via GAA games. If I am reading the press release right, they are all over the place.

I'm with Dublinfella, I reckon its a loada bollocks. Having said that, its no more bollocks than all those other reports which claim their activity adds money to the economy, and everyones at it so the gpa may as well be at it too.

As someone said, the only way money can be added to the economy as a whole is by Nordies heading south and thus spending money that would likely otherwise have been spent in the Uk economy. All the rest of the money would have been spent anyway on something else, and thus entered the economy anyway. Noones saving with thes rates!!

[lynchbhoy]

Sorry, I was referring to the tax breaks which are the professional athletes equivalent to the grant given to the GAA player. I'm not living in Ireland at the moment but they still get that don't they?

Thats not a 'grant' though. It costs the taxpayer nothing and attracts players to Ireland who might not come here otherwise. They get most, but not all of their tax back over up to 10 years and it is capped.

Grants for GAA players are a direct cost to the exchequer. It appears, like everything, it will be cut. And I don't see why an amateur soccer, rugby or tiddlywinks player wasn't eligible.

Long and short of it, there is no equivalence between an amatuer and a pro in any field, and to want amatuers to get a grant because professionals have a tax exemption to me makes zero sense. Should someone who enjoys painting or strumming a guitar get a grant because professional artists do?

I would agree with that.
The only place GAA players should be getting money from is the GAA. We cannot afford this, the state cannot afford this. So until the economy sees better times, there will and can not be payment to GAA players.
Sure soccer and rugby can barely afford to continue in the same vein and i'd not be surprised to see cuts there too from both organisations.

[Bogball XV]

Sorry, I was referring to the tax breaks which are the professional athletes equivalent to the grant given to the GAA player. I'm not living in Ireland at the moment but they still get that don't they?

Thats not a 'grant' though. It costs the taxpayer nothing and attracts players to Ireland who might not come here otherwise. They get most, but not all of their tax back over up to 10 years and it is capped.

Grants for GAA players are a direct cost to the exchequer. It appears, like everything, it will be cut. And I don't see why an amateur soccer, rugby or tiddlywinks player wasn't eligible.

Long and short of it, there is no equivalence between an amatuer and a pro in any field, and to want amatuers to get a grant because professionals have a tax exemption to me makes zero sense. Should someone who enjoys painting or strumming a guitar get a grant because professional artists do?

1. Surely it costs the taxpayer the tax that's repaid?  That's an expense in my book.
2. I think all amateur sportspeople were eligible, but only those deemed by the sports council to have attained a standard of excellence (according to the sports council criteria) received grants.
3. I really do not understand what you mean by the highlighted statement - would you explain it please?

[Rossfan]

It costs the taxpayer nothing . They get most, but not all of their tax back over up to 10 years ?

Then it DOES cost the taxpayer.
Obviously all that heading of the ball over the years has damaged your brain

[dublinfella]

1. Surely it costs the taxpayer the tax that's repaid?  That's an expense in my book.
2. I think all amateur sportspeople were eligible, but only those deemed by the sports council to have attained a standard of excellence (according to the sports council criteria) received grants.
3. I really do not understand what you mean by the highlighted statement - would you explain it please?

1: Not all the tax is repaid, so if rugby player x or soccer player y moves to Ireland an amount of PAYE, plus all the spending they do living here, is retained. It is supporting an industry via tax breaks, something the state does in many fields.

2: Are you sure about that? I thought it was as simple as whoever the GPA put forward for the grant. If what you say was the case, I find it hard to believe the Kilkenny sub football goalie has more of a case than a LSL or AIL rugby player. Also, were were the women in all this?

3: An amateur is an amateur. They have no 'entitlement' to money, grants or tax exemptions. The GAA has an amateur ethos yet its union actively lobbies the state to get its players payment. As both a GAA fan and a taxpayer I object. If we want professional GAA players, the GAA should be the ones paying, not the hard pressed taxpayers.

The GPA's approach is that if a professional soccer or rugby player gets something from the state in monetary terms so should GAA players is fundamentally flawed at a number of levels.

[armaghniac]

As both a GAA fan

Pull the other one, its got bells on it.