The Gaelic Players Association (GPA) are expected to ask for an increase in player grants from €1,400 to €2,500 at a pre-budget submission on Thursday morning.
Around €5.6 million is currently paid in grants to intercounty GAA players each year. The proposed increase would take that figure to €10 million. It is to be suggested for all 4,000 or so male and female players.
In February, the GPA released a report claiming that intercounty players generate a total economic impact of €591 million annually, but at a significant personal expense. It estimated that individuals incur an average expense loss of €4,602 to participate at the top level of Gaelic games.
That report, conducted independently by Indecon, provides the basis for the GPA’s request. Factors like inflation on mileage and nutrition costs, while reimbursement rates remain flat or unchanged, were taken into account. Players are said to be €1,499 worse off than they were in 2018, though grants for male intercounty players have not been increased since that year.
RM Block
In a survey of intercounty players, many spoke of the impact playing commitments had on their educational and career progression. Players are losing out on €3,500 annually in potential overtime earnings, the report also claimed.
At the start of the year, it was reported that the GPA were seeking the introduction of a tax relief scheme for intercounty players. Previously, in 2018, there had been calls to add GAA players to the list of professional athletes that benefit from the sportsperson’s relief scheme in retirement. The tax relief can only be claimed on direct earnings from sport, however, and there were doubts from the Government around how to incorporate the GAA given its amateur status.
Male players receive around €3 million in player grants each year, while female players are paid around €2.6 million. The difference is largely down to their being fewer women’s teams in football and camogie. Many female players also use part of their allowance to contribute to the running costs of their team, meaning their average take-home from grants is approximately €920 and significantly less than their male counterparts.
The proposed increase would go some way toward offsetting the negative annual impact experienced by GAA players on their income. Overall, that figure stands at €5,200 as per the Indecon report. The GPA has long been campaigning for improved conditions for players, and for increased State recognition of their economic contribution.
Other key findings from the research included claims that intercounty games generated €359 million in direct spending (up 51 per cent since 2018), 4,212 jobs that were directly supported (up 53 per cent since 2018), €353 million in gross value added (up 53 per cent since 2018) and €62 million in exchequer impact (up 49 per cent since 2018).
