Mayo manager John O'Mahony has admitted that he is seriously concerned about the future of the player grants scheme. In his capacity as a TD, O'Mahony raised the issue with Sports Minister Martin Cullen in the Dail on Wednesday, and was informed that the Government-sponsored scheme is under threat after just one year. Making it clear that he would be strongly opposed to its scrapping, O'Mahony had put down a question asking if the 2008 grants had been paid out and could the Minister guarantee that they will be paid out in 2009. "He answered the first one eventually and the second one he didn't answer it clearly. But, if you were reading between the lines, you'd be very worried that they are going to be gone, I would imagine," he said. O'Mahony added: "For GAA players who pack stadiums throughout the country, year in year out, it was some way of recognising what they are contributing to Irish life and it was a way of covering some of their expenses. That's all it was. "You had this exhaustive three or four years of discussions between the GPA and the GAA and the Minister and they came up with this system. It is a minimal amount of money, but at least it established the principle that players would be in some way recognised for the entertainment value they give. "Now it seems to me to be under serious threat of being taken away and not in an overall context of looking at all of the other things. It was brought in badly and now it seems to be gone away." Tweet

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