Minister confident integration will happen in near future

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Patrick O'Donovan TD chats with Caroline Murphy.
©INPHO/James Crombie.

Minister for Sport Patrick O'Donovan is confident that the integration of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association will happen soon, despite Mary McAleese’s resignation as chair of the steering committee.

The Minister met separately with the three bodies, as well as Dr McAleese on Wednesday, and is satisfied that they remain committed to integration, and that they will continue to work together to achieve it.

"It was about a half an hour each and I got a fairly good insight as to where we are by way of a process," he said on RTÉ's Today with David McCullagh programme.

"This is the largest change in Gaelic Games administration since the foundation of the GAA in Hayes’ Hotel in 1884. The one thing is all of the bodies are signed up to it. I asked a very straight question of all three of them yesterday – 'are you signed up to integration, a fully integrated single Gaelic Games organisation?'

"And all three said 'yes'."

Minister O’Donovan added that he expected Special Congresses of the three organisations, which were planned for October, to be rescheduled for next year.

“All three organisations said to me yesterday that we're not actually far away from being able to put forward motions to the Congresses,” he continued.

"Ultimately, the last thing any of the organisations would want is if you put forward a motion to three Congresses and one voted down, then that sets the whole thing back maybe years. That'd be disastrous."

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Sport Charlie McConalogue says a new chairperson of the steering group for integration will be appointed early next month.

“It is really important that a new chairperson is appointed on October 5. And we would expect coming out of the October 5 (meeting) that clear outlines are provided from the three organisations in relation to how this can proceed,” he told RTÉ’s Prime Time.