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The problem goes back a long time. The state was poor. Health and education were contracted out to religious orders. The Mater.  Some hospitals are still owned by religious orders.Sport depended on volunteers.

The state is ultra centralised. County councils have no power and no money. In other countries local authorities are responsible for sports infrastructure. Local taxes pay for swimming pools and  pitches. The FAI numbers look big because they are catching up with decades of the country doing things arseways.

I wouldn't be surprised if the final rugby concussion bill was in a similar ballpark.

Come on. The GAA got land from the free state others didn't. A tax was put on soccer and rugby tickets to fund GAA building of facilities. Berties government gave the GAA a billion. But they also were the first government to allow non GAA clubs access capital grants. How much are soccer and rugby players getting in grants from the taxpayer?

GAA facilities are not better because we are inherently better people than the soccer lads. They have been given unique help for over 100 years and soccer is getting organised enough to try and catch up

This is all political. The GAA received €431 million from the Sports Capital and Equipment programme since 2020, while the FAI received just €188 million according to the FAI's paper.
The state of most LoI  stadiums  is very poor considering how wealthy the country is. Hopefully the FAI can focus on infrastructure until it is delivered.

Their stadiums are a mess as they spend their money paying players when such payments are not feasible. Are FAI saying that the sports capital grant is biased to GAA? Total rubbish. To get significant sports capital grant or leader funding you need to either own your own grounds or have a long term lease. Most GAA clubs have this in place, many soccer clubs reliant on handouts from the council. FAI will do everything but look at themselves.

There are far more GAA pitches on public land then you would think.  The reality is twice  the number of soccer players than gaelic games players. But like the horses there is an assumption that soccer getting a fair slice means the GAA get less. The only country in Europe that doesn't fund soccer acadamies is...

That shite needs to stop. Sport in Ireland is the worst funded in Europe. Any squeeze on public money helps us all.

Always the hand out and always a sour whingy face moaning about the GAA.

Can you point to the mention of the GAA here,?

Ambitious and no doubt an opening shot. But what struck me was 20% private funding. This is an organisation with no main sponsor. Where is this couple of hundred million coming from?

How much money is enough for some of these guys, they're hardly short a few Bob.  Will Messi return to Barcelona? The club he loves so much he wouldn't take a pay cut to stay in the first place.

https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1665717922927616000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1665717922927616000%7Ctwgr%5E6be6b651b1827e3796992d5f8989aa9067513840%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.football-espana.net%2F2023%2F06%2F05%2Ffabrizio-romano-on-lionel-messi-to-barcelona-both-sides-feel-time-is-running-out

I feel like a move to Saudi Arabia likely.

Inter Miami apparently

What if it's being played at a public venue?

Less likely in rural areas, but do they play GAA in the Phoenix Park or St Anne's or Marley Parks in Dublin, for example?

I played tonnes of soccer back in the day all over Dublin on council pitches. Can't see any legal issues with someone filming there.

If you want to film kids without permission get yourself a good solicitor.

Astonishing it needs saying

What if it's being played at a public venue?

Less likely in rural areas, but do they play GAA in the Phoenix Park or St Anne's or Marley Parks in Dublin, for example?

I played tonnes of soccer back in the day all over Dublin on council pitches. Can't see any legal issues with someone filming there.

Rock up to a playground, film the kids there and let us know how far the line 'it's in public' gets you.

You cannot video underage games without written permission from both teams. That shouldn't need explained in 2023

For all this talk of City and financial doping which may be right, their net spend is less than the likes of Chelsea and United and a couple of others too. They have bought smartly and Guardiola is up there with the best managers the game has seen.

Their reported spend is complete crap though, that's part of the charges that were placed against them. Undeclared fees, wages paid through other streams - what you see on paper means nothing. Great team no doubt but we have no idea if they spent well or not.

One journalist noted they haven't lost a game since the 115 charges were made against them.

I'm not talking about their reported spend, I'm referring to their net spend on transfers which is what it is. How they pay for the transfers, wages and getting money into the club via sponsorships and other means is another matter.

As the poster above noted they are well managed on the pitch and in terms of their transfer strategy in buying the right players more often than not unlike United and Chelsea.

Is what it is says who though?

For all this talk of City and financial doping which may be right, their net spend is less than the likes of Chelsea and United and a couple of others too. They have bought smartly and Guardiola is up there with the best managers the game has seen.

Almost as if there is an allegation their books are cooked

Still begging from the Taxpayer

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/business-of-sport/arid-41130757.html

They aren't wrong on the betting tax. More money goes on soccer than horses, yet all 10m goes to horses and dogs, and the majority of that is (tax free) prize money, most of which goes to 5 well known owners. Add 1% and use the new revenue to build grassroot sport facilities

Money spent on grassroots sports saves the Exchequer money down the line.

Agreed. And there is a far better case for swimming pools and clubhouses than O'Leary getting a tax free winnings on the taxpayer

Are we avoiding the elephant in the room that Man City have financial doped. The Lance Armstrong of football.

exactly. Barely mentioned by journalists too

Delaney does and gets destroyed. Every EPL team is at it to some level.

Still begging from the Taxpayer

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/business-of-sport/arid-41130757.html

They aren't wrong on the betting tax. More money goes on soccer than horses, yet all 10m goes to horses and dogs, and the majority of that is (tax free) prize money, most of which goes to 5 well known owners. Add 1% and use the new revenue to build grassroot sport facilities

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/2023/05/17/shelbourne-boss-damien-duff-hits-out-at-lack-of-funding-for-training-facilities-in-ireland/

Duff also confirmed that Jack Moylan, Shels hat-trick hero in Sligo last Saturday, has become a target for UK clubs and he doubled down on the decrepit state of soccer facilities when compared to GAA grounds.

"I went out with my son to play against Kilcoole the other day and they had a better training ground than any League of Ireland club. I'm not sure if they own it but I was thinking something has gone wrong along the line here. Anyway, it's not like I'm harping on about it. That's what it'll feel like when I see the headlines. Here he f**king goes again. That's why I hate doing [press conferences]."

Is it just me or is Duff always complaining. 

His body language is always negative - during and after games.

Just my opinion.

Completely. It's boring now. And considering he was involved in setting up Rovers facilities it's also patant nonsense. He knew Shels setup and infrastructure when he took the job. Whining about it now is tedious.

There's plenty of busses going down and that's the only job imo. We are being lifted in Strabane and taken direct to the gig on May 5th. Then back up the road an hour after, all for €35. You couldn't drive and park for that. There are numerous companies going from all corners of the island.

But if you fall behind, will the bus wait for you?

I was sitting at Slane for 2 hours waiting for a lost dose. They try not to leave minus

For a gig will be a nightmare. Town or the Aviva