News:The Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA) has agreed to hear the challenge taken against the player awards scheme.

Of One Belief, the group opposed to the scheme, had asked the DRA to rule on Central Council's approval in principle of the agreement between the GAA, the Gaelic Players' Association and the Government.

"This is mainly an administrative matter," said DRA secretary Liam Keane of the decision to list the matter for a hearing. "When a claim comes in I have to decide whether it's in order. Sometimes claims are out of time or haven't complied with certain requirements.

"This is just a question of whether the claim fitted into the type of case that should go to a tribunal for hearing."

Although Keane wasn't able to say when the hearing would take place, he confirmed that there would be no undue delay in empanelling the DRC (Disputes Resolution Committee, the specific tribunal put in place to hear individual cases for the authority).

"There isn't immediate pressure, like a match taking place on Sunday, but I would expect to have the tribunal set up within the next few days," he said.

Just last week it was reported that the GAA's legal representatives had argued any such hearing would not be a suitable matter for arbitration because no binding decision had been taken on the subject of the awards.

"It will be open to the parties to make their case before the tribunal," said Keane, adding that the GAA could pursue their argument on the above basis should they wish.

When Central Council agreed the scheme in principle, it also decided to review the mechanism for distributing the funds as well as finalise the amounts to which players would be entitled.

Full approval of the scheme was deferred until the next meeting, due the eve of this month's special congress, which is expected to accept the completed arrangements.

Given that these arrangements played a significant role in securing the consensus, the GAA felt that a DRA hearing on the awards would be better left until final approval had been granted.

That argument was trenchantly criticised by Mark Conway, one of the leaders of the campaign against the awards, when he spoke to the Examinernewspaper earlier this week.

"Let me put it this way. Let's say I and a number of others sit down together and conspire to murder someone. We agree what we're going to do, but we don't agree what gun we're going to use.

"Say we're caught and brought to court for conspiracy to murder. We've agreed to do the deed and who we're going to do it with. Do you think not having agreed how we're going to do it will mean that we have no case to answer?

"That's what the GAA is saying, and it is being dishonest, to put it mildly."

Of One Belief, in which Conway is a leading figure, issued a statement on Wednesday calling on the DRA to expedite the hearing of their case.

In the same press release, the group called on clubs and county boards to discuss the proposed awards for intercounty players and to submit motions to congress to prevent the scheme from going ahead.

It is now considered likely that congress will hear a debate on the subject of the players' awards scheme, although no proposed motions have yet been received by Croke Park.

Meanwhile, Cavan county secretary Liam McCabe has taken issue with claims that his county decided to oppose the awards scheme at its Monday county board meeting.

"Any discussion on the subject was minimal," said McCabe.

"Our Central Council representative gives a report to meetings and on Monday it was a very lengthy one, covering the player grants, the burnout report, the proposed new disciplinary procedures and the club fixtures report.

"At the end of that a maximum of two people asked questions. It wasn't significant enough for me to even minute it and there was no vote taken and no motion agreed for congress."

At a meeting of the Dublin County Board on the same night, several delegates were very critical of the proposed scheme, although no formal motion on the matter was proposed for submission to congress.