"Other sports have been cut by 10 per cent, but our scheme has been singled out and the funding now on the table has been slashed by 70 per cent. If it had been cut, but in line with everyone else, it is not that you'd be happy with it, but it would have been acceptable." I think this says it all. No respect showed to our Gaelic games Athletes. It's simply unjust. 70%!!!!....... Whether you agree with the players receiving a grant or not it still exists... The process exists and was passed. Our players have been single out and thrown to the dogs. Why should Gaelic Games take the full brunt... while other sports that really promote nothing of interest to this country get awarded with 70% of our players grant money?

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 02/10/2009 16:19:53    443148

Jim

There was a time when a post like this would be making the keyboards hop
but now Smelly feet and which Playstaion game are the order of the day
Time to sail into the HS sunset me thinks -

madasbutter (Mayo) - Posts: 872 - 02/10/2009 18:05:02    443283

madasbutter
County: Mayo
Posts: 149

443283 Jim

There was a time when a post like this would be making the keyboards hop
but now Smelly feet and which Playstaion game are the order of the day
Time to sail into the HS sunset me thinks -

It'll work yet.... keep the faith MadB!

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 02/10/2009 18:15:28    443302

Yeah it does seem unjust. The GAA are always going to struggle for funding as there is no international dimension to it (unless your a DUP Sports Minister).

The Department of Art, Sports and Tourism is a joke anyway. I was talking to a Danish guy living down here, he's a basketball coach and he is shocked by the low standards of our sporting facilities outside of the GAA (a lot of which, he acknowledged is funded by GAA members). The main function of this department seems to be finding ways of getting wealthy American golfers over for a few rounds and junkets for Ministers. It is ceratinly not looking after top amateur athletes never mind making sure there are proper facilities in every town in Ireland for kids and adults.

roundball (Tipperary) - Posts: 2514 - 02/10/2009 22:50:36    443524

What do you expect? this is a government that has provided a soccer grounds free gratis to Shamrock Rovers (not only the ground but its maintenance as well) and the same to Fingal what ever they are called. It also funds the Internation Rugby Board to the tune of €40 million in tax breaks each year. It also gives very generous income tax breaks to professional sportspeople (the main beneficaries are the IRFU). This is excluding the €370million and counting given for the Landsdowne Road development. And they call the GAA the grab all etc. The only reason they get away with this type of injustice is there is not enough outcry from GAA supporters about it.

mod (Mayo) - Posts: 859 - 02/10/2009 23:09:52    443547

Good point jimbodub but with the whole recession, lisbon and upcoming budget..............most people will be worrying about themselves............but I totally agreee with what your saying

Cranky360 (Mayo) - Posts: 834 - 03/10/2009 04:35:41    443661

Its unfair that the gaelic players have to be targeted like that, but the other athletes in question; runners, walkers, etc... the grant is their only source of income. As it stands they wouldn't be making a huge amount of money from it anyway, so to penalise them as the gaelic players wouldn't be fair either.

JuanVeron (Westmeath) - Posts: 1866 - 03/10/2009 14:54:54    443850

This is just a disgrace..

Galway11 (Galway) - Posts: 570 - 03/10/2009 16:57:53    443928

Good enough for them. Should never have got it in the first place. I knew this greed would cause serious problems and this is just the start of it

redandgreen (None) - Posts: 691 - 03/10/2009 18:03:00    443972

They should have got grants in the first place and what about players years ago not a word about money they played with pride for there county.

Dellboypolecat (Tyrone) - Posts: 15069 - 03/10/2009 20:38:17    444064

The GAA get more than enough money from the taxpayer as it is if they didnt waste it on stadiums that are are empty most of the time or on floodlights in every bloody pitch in the country for a game that is played in the summer.The GAA got 47 per cent of all sports grants given out last year by the goverment and its not even the biggest participation sport in this country so stop moaning and get on with it like all other sports have to .

tinrylandman (Carlow) - Posts: 387 - 03/10/2009 22:22:24    444138

I thought the misinformation coming from both sides of the Lisbon Debate was misleading but Tinrylandman you take the biscuit. 47%!!!!!Its closer to 17%. Even the big lotto payouts dont go to GAA any more and you seem to ignore the privledged tax status of professional sports here.

mod (Mayo) - Posts: 859 - 05/10/2009 00:31:17    444973

tinrylandman it's obvious you've never won a thing in your life, inter county hurling might be played during the summer but they start training for that in early January and also the bulk of club hurling is played at this time of the year, it's dark now at half 7, how are people supposed to train without floodlights don't be a fool

Buster66 (UK) - Posts: 119 - 05/10/2009 09:15:14    445055

Mod take a look at the last ESRI report on finance for sports if you want to find the truth and they even say the GAA get to much funding its time the middle class of the GAA get up off there backsides and stopped looking for handouts all the time

tinrylandman (Carlow) - Posts: 387 - 05/10/2009 10:54:45    445148

That ESRI report was flawed and didn't give the full picture.

football first (None) - Posts: 1259 - 05/10/2009 11:33:00    445191

Football first explain why it was flawed

tinrylandman (Carlow) - Posts: 387 - 05/10/2009 11:55:10    445219

Tinrylandman you make a number of points and I will try to deal with them one by one 1)Sports Grants are not the whole picture but even on that score looking at my own county the biggest winners in 2008 were Mayo AFC which got 650,000. Mayo GAA Co board got 253,000. Ballina RFC got 150,000 Ballina Stephenites (a much bigger club got 127,000 Westport RFC got 51,000 Westport GAA 32000 Ballinrobe RFC got 105,000 Ballinrobe AFC 160,000 Ballinrobe Gaa 0 An Sportlann Ballinrobe got 64,000 (perhaps they have GAA connections). Claremorris AFC 145,000 Claremorris GAA 0 Crossmolina Gaa Community centre 256,000 Crossmolina AFC 35,000 (an exception) CastleBar boxing 23,000 CastlebarRFC 38,000 CastlebarGolf 63,000 Castlebar Celtic AFC 60,000 Castlebar United AFC 15,000 Castlebar Gaa (mitchells) 0 and so on. I have compared like with like where possible. 2) The tax free status of professional athletes automatically discriminates against GAA players, why it was clearly introduced to aid non GAA sports. The 40 million tax break given annually to the International Rugby Board is used I'm sure to fund the development of rugby internationally what benefit is this to Ireland? The same is true of our highly paid rugby players why should they be given this tax free status. Clearly it allows the IRFU to attract high profile players for the Munster Leinster and Ulster teams at a lower cost to the IRFU but again what benefit is this to Ireland? Wouldn't the money be better spent on our hospitals etc Why have O'Driscoll and Co been singled out for such specialised treatment particularly at a time when we all will be asked to pay more tax? 3) Re Middle Class Gaa more than any other sports organisation in this country it encompasses all classes where else will you have the University lecturer like James Nallen or the Stock Broker Robbie Kelleher playing with the teacher the guard and the farmer. Private school /public school it makes no difference 4) Re Looking for handouts, In my experience they are the one organisation against whom that accusation cannot be levelled. Redevelopment of Croke Park it was made clear to the Govt that while we would appreciate help we were going to redevelop the stadium anyway. It might take longer but we would still get the job done. I was involved with a ladies GAA club here in Dublin where we shared facilities in a community picch with a rugby club and a soccer club. We looked to improve the facilities and raised some funds (bag packing , race nights etc) roughly 50,000 to that end, we were told there could be no development unless all sporting bodies were involved. We went to the rugby users who were very luke warm in their support and the soccer users who gave us a flat NO and said that it should be provided by the government. So no progress made and facilities are still as rubbish as they always were. You could also to look also at the Shamrock Rovers debacle where a club who were parishuted in were given facilities and maintenance of these facilities free gratis while the GAA clubs who have been labouring away in the area for more than 30 years (like Thomas Davis) are turned down when they asked to share these grounds. Nuf Said!!!

mod (Mayo) - Posts: 859 - 05/10/2009 12:47:06    445289

Well said mod. The GAA are seen (sometimes rightly as the Grab All Association) and just because some clubs have brilliant it seems non GAA people think every club has money to burn. The grants were taken away simply because they were the most recently implemented and it made a statement by reducing them drastically because it would be played out in the media by the GPA. Whether u agree with the grants or not they should be reduced roughly in line with other tax incentives etc.

only_way_is_up (Galway) - Posts: 99 - 05/10/2009 13:43:42    445364

Very good post Mod.

PearseBro (Monaghan) - Posts: 459 - 05/10/2009 13:49:22    445368

Mod you didnt answer the question I asked where was the eari report flawed , in your eyes it was flawed because it didnt give you the answer you wanted and told the truth about the amount of funding given to the GAA .Fact number 1 ,47 per cent of all monies given to sport went to the GAA, even though they have no policy for disabled sports and have practically abandoned working class areas especially in Dublin,Fact number 2 The high court ruled for Shamrock Rovers but I suppose they are wrong as well Thomas Davis were offered land and money but only took the case to stop soccer in Tallaght,having Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght has given more of an indentity to Talllaght than Thomas Davis ever did.
Stock broker ,lecturer,guard ,farmer and a teacher how much more middle to upper class do you want to get.The GAA have went down a route of neglecting the working class of this ccountry and can well afford to compensate players if they want to and not spend it on white elephant stadiums all over the country FACT.

tinrylandman (Carlow) - Posts: 387 - 05/10/2009 13:57:31    445377