What - no discussion about the GAA backing pay for play?

[stephenite]

Stop talking shite than - you're accusing Seanie of being a wrong smartarse, when it is in fact you're the one who is the wrong smartarse - stop being a wrong smartarsem, and with that in mind where did Magickingdom say that he wanted other sports to leave the GAA's scheme alone?

He said ......

i would not be in favour of pay for play but if the gov were going to fund this like they do for some of the olympic sports with grants to individuals then it was ok imo..

Edit - apologies, I see where he said that. Still he's one of the few

[Hound]

This is the first I've heard of this (on the go all day) and if it's true it's truly great news. It should be the end of the pay-for-play threat, for now, anyway, given what the GPA is said to have stated recently: I read somewhere the other day* (meant to post it here but forgot) that the GPA had stated that they would not come back to the GAA looking for money if the government rejected their grants scheme. So that's that, on the face of it, though I'm sure it's only a matter of time before the sniffing after money starts again from some other angle. And I think I know what it'll be but that's for another day.

For now, I'm inclined to think that this was a masterful piece of manoeuvring by Nicky Brennan – line up with the GPA, present a joint proposal to the government that you know will never fly, but only after extracting an undertaking from the GPA that this is it and if it fails, there's no coming back looking for it another way.

Game set and match. For now.

* Edit - just read the GAA/GPA agreement linked by fearglasmor above and the undertaking is contained in the agreement.

"Masterful manoueuvering by Brennan" - what a joke! Its gas when someone is popular they get credit for everything going and when they're not they get blamed for everything.

It really amazes the anti-intercounty player feeling from the general masses on the board. Begrudge the players getting a grant, not from the GAA, but from the government. "Game set and match" when the players get nothing. Bizarre.

This is a bad decision for the GAA. The Minister has said the €5m is still available, you just have to apply for it in some other way for say a (makey-uppey??) capital project - and then fund the players with a different €5m. The Minister has been very sleeveen about this, for the first time saying "it is a matter for the GAA itself to pay these grants through some undefined funding mechanism". The GPA are saying its effectively the same €5m, which it is, so there should be no issue. But there's just no way the GAA can pay it to the players directly.

A government paid grant would have put an end to the pay-for-play debate for years, now I fear this is just the beginning... 

[Tatler Jack]

It really amazes the anti-intercounty player feeling from the general masses on the board

Not true Hound. One can be suspicious of i GPA and Dessie's gang and be pro inter county player. Most contributors here are anxious that the GAA survives and is not brought down by a greedy clique.

A government paid grant would have put an end to the pay-for-play debate for years

No it would not. The GPA have a pay for play agenda and would have trousered any grant from government and continued chipping away at the Pay for Play agenda. You should remember GPA is essentially a commercial organisation rather than an organisation solely interested in players welfare.

[magpie seanie]

there is nothing worse than a smartarse thats wrong.

I should have known better than engaging with him. 

[Hardy]

Hound, there are some surprisingly cheap and inaccurate shots in your response to what I said. You know my position on the government grant idea very well and to represent  me and anyone who opposes it as being anti-player is unfair to us whom you dismiss as "the general masses on the board".

And scoff if you like at my speculation that Brennan may have "masterfully" engineered this outcome, but I can assure you that it has nothing to do with his popularity and I'm not one of his uncritical fans. I'm possibly the only contributor here who has posted criticism of him and his approach since he was elected. So you're off the mark there.

I disagree profoundly that "a government paid grant would have put an end to the pay-for-play debate for years" for the reasons stated by Tatler Jack.

You may be right about the substantive issue, though. It may be just the beginning, as you suggest and my optimism of last night is waning a little. On reading the GAA/GPA agreement again, all it undertakes is that the GPA won't ask the GAA to fund the payments. They will now maintain that the government is still providing the funding and so nothing changes – it's the same €5M, as you say – except that it will be up to the GAA to disburse it. The GAA (I hope, at least) won't do this and so it has the potential for a long-drawn-out and even nastier row. "The government wanted to give us €5M and you stood in the way" sort of stuff. 

[magickingdom]

Dublinfella:
"I quoted magickingdom stating that he wanted the other sports to leave the GAA's scheme alone"

not what i said, it was more like that the gov should tell the other sports/business (for your lot) to fock off and have the balls to set up a grant system for the gaa which is unique to ireland. kinda like cultural preservation if you will. i'm sure some of the other sporting bodies would have a problem with that but some wouldnt. i was to lazy to read all the previous posts but i'm sure many for very good reasons dont agree with it. theres a quote button on your screen if you have difficulty quoting me in future....

[LaurelEye]

not what i said, it was more like that the gov should tell the other sports/business (for your lot) to fock off and have the balls to set up a grant system for the gaa which is unique to ireland. kinda like cultural preservation if you will. i'm sure some of the other sporting bodies would have a problem with that but some wouldnt. i was to lazy to read all the previous posts but i'm sure many for very good reasons dont agree with it. theres a quote button on your screen if you have difficulty quoting me in future....

Wouldn't have a cat in hell's chance of getting by the Supreme Court and the provisions on equality in the constitution. Never mind getting by the Joe Duffy Show audience...

The grants were never going to be a runner because of the follow-on implications. I remember making this point last year, pointing out the Sports Council criteria for existing grant-holders, etc. and the comments from the hockey and basketball associations. I also remember getting pooh-poohed at the time by the GPA's in-house fan club.