GAA president Liam O'Neill admits it is time to discuss the penalty rule in hurling.

It has become notoriously difficult to find the net from a penalty since top brass clarified earlier this year that the sliothar must be struck from outside the 20-metre line. Tipperary pair Seamus Callanan and John O'Dwyer both saw their penalties stopped by Kilkenny goalkeeper Eoin Murphy in Sunday's All-Ireland final and O'Neill says the Association is open to finding a way of increasing conversion rates again:

"Had we come out with a recommendation on that at this year's Congress, people would resist it because it was coming from the top. But now the debate is going to happen at grassroots level and I welcome that," the Laois man says in The Irish Examiner.

"I've looked for debate in the organisation, it's one of the points of my presidency. I've wanted people to have a voice. Central Council has been transformed in that it gets to debate a lot of things and we've asked Central Council to come up with suggestions about the issues they want to discuss. That process is there.

"People who say a penalty should be scored are probably right. There's no doubt about that but let's talk about it and get an agreement on it.

"Hurling folk have been difficult in accepting change and I said in my speech at Congress that to refuse to consider change is to refuse to consider the chances of improvement.

"So here we have a perfect example of what I was talking about at Congress. I want people to consider change, to discuss it and I want consensus.

"We didn't change any rule, we just interpreted it. It was always meant that the free be struck at the 20m line. There was no rule change there. It's important for people to remember that. There was an issue on health and safety grounds."

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