GAA President Aogan O Fearghail says it's clear why the association invest so heavily in Dublin.

Mr O Fearghail was speaking following some criticism from circles in smaller counties after the association's recent financial report revealed that Dublin will benefit from a €1.3million to fund their projects and coaching infrastructure in 2016, with the likes of Fermanagh and Leitrim set to receive just €40,000 in comparison.

"There is a disproportion and that's clear from the figures and that's why we publish the figures so people can see but there is a disproportion of population also," explained O'Fearghail.

"There are 1.3 million people living in (Dublin) and 20 years ago the GAA was struggling in large parts of it so there's been fantastic development and not just because of investment. There's a huge voluntary effort in schools in Dublin but there's absolutely no doubt and it's clear for everyone to see that we do invest heavily in Dublin."

The Cavan native also outlined the difficulties in making significant changes to the funding structures.

"We have a small task force working here in Croke Park to see if we can redistribute and when we distribute - and it's a bit like our discussion on the fixtures - it does cause difficulty in one area," he stated.

"That's why, as Tom Ryan (GAA Director of Finance) explained this week, you can't just throw a switch overnight because there are people employed but we are determined to redistribute so that fairness and equity comes into the system a little more than is apparent."

Tweet

Most Read Stories