On Gaelic Games:Why was there such fuss over the Sports Council funding of player awards?

My view is that it was partly driven by a pathological hostility to the Gaelic Players Association. Few of those leading the opposition to the Government scheme have a good word to say about the players' union and frequently volunteer scathing and aggressive views about the organisation.

Another motive factor is that the energy that drove opposition to the reform of Rules 21 and 42 is now channelling itself through another outlet. That doesn't mean that everyone who opposed those changes opposes the awards scheme or that everyone who supported them is in favour of the players receiving these grants. But in my view there's a fair overlap.

Those opposing the scheme have their own views: that these payments are in breach of Rule 11, governing amateur status, and that Central Council's acceptance of the Government scheme represents the birth of pay-for-play and the beginning of the end for the GAA.

Someone as committed to the association as Mark Conway in Tyrone, whose expertise has been of great assistance to his club, county, province and Croke Park committees, has decided to walk away because he believes in the above interpretation.

So people have different views on the situation and there have been intense exchanges on the subject.

But here are some facts.

The GPA campaign that resulted in public funds being committed to these awards has been a public one. It has its origins in a response to the 2002 Finance Bill by then Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy, who included provisions allowing professional sports people substantial tax allowances and pension incentives on their earnings.

When the bill was published, an immediate response from the GAA on behalf of the then president Seán McCague issued from Croke Park:

"Mr McCague stated, however, that he was disappointed that when we had just finished the year of the volunteer, voluntary and amateur sports stars such as GAA players appear to have been discriminated against from a tax concession premise."

Did anyone at the time object to this effective request from the association that its players be funded?

Anyone, apart, that is, from McCreevy, who said he wouldn't be extending tax breaks to be people with no earnings and urged the GPA to "think laterally".

When last January the then Minister for Sport, John O'Donoghue, gave an undertaking to fund the current awards scheme it was on condition that the GPA agree with the GAA a schedule of proposed expenses, to be covered by the scheme.

That agreed schedule was widely published and ratified last April by Central Council, which is meant to represent the counties through its constituent delegates and which later authorised the GAA to enter into negotiations with the Government and GPA.

During the discussions there was little public comment, as would be normal practice during talks of this nature. As soon as agreement was reached - entirely within the terms accepted in April - it was published and listed for ratification by Central Council.

Yet still there have been complaints that the whole business had been done by sleight of hand and agitation for the matter to go to congress - this despite it involving no rule change and despite the fact that the counties' own representatives have had seven months since first agreeing the schedule of expenses - based on amounts of money virtually identical to what was delivered by the GAA's negotiation team two weeks ago - in which to take soundings on the matter.

You can argue that Central Council's abysmal failure to keep its counties informed lies at the heart of this particular communications deficit but Croke Park has done everything by the book. Complaints that people weren't paying attention are risible at a stage when the GAA have on the basis of doing things scrupulously correctly concluded an agreement with the Government.

Is there an argument that the GAA membership at large is entitled to draw the line on any issue it wants? In other words just because Rule 11 has read like the work of Flann O'Brien for the past decade shouldn't prevent people from declaring that the ne plus ultra has been reached on this or any issue they choose.

That's possible in an organisation as demotic as the GAA but all Croke Park can do in these circumstances is play by the rules - which of course is never an unambiguously popular course of action.

Does this mean members have been silenced on the issue?

No. If pressure groups want Rule 11 to prohibit the player awards scheme they can through clubs and counties bring forward a motion to amend the Official Guide accordingly.

Until then they have to live with the interpretation of the rule that has been standard over the past 10 years and which was again upheld last Saturday.

According to some, including Tyrone chair Pat Darcy, the association needs to amend Rule 11 in order to accommodate the scheme. Here's the rule in question:

"The Association is an amateur association. A player, team, official or member shall not accept payment in cash or in kind in conjunction with the playing of Gaelic Games. A player, team, official or member shall not contract himself/itself to any agent other than those officially approved by Central Council. Expenses paid to all officials, players, and members shall not exceed the standard rates laid down by the Central Council. Members of the Association may not participate in full-time training. This rule shall not prohibit the payment of salaries or wages to employees of the Association."

Anyone with even a casual knowledge of how the GAA operates would have to agree it's a priceless piece of work - even allowing for the national willingness (indeed, preference) to tolerate laws and regulations that have long ago ceased to have any connection with reality.

The GAA allows players to accept money for commercial endorsements, promotional appearances, media interaction, third-level education grants and generous expenses when overseas involved in certain Gaelic games activities. What could these "payments in cash" possibly be except "in conjunction with the playing of Gaelic games"?

In other words the GAA has long taken a view - spoken or unspoken - that its amateurism is to be interpreted as not being paid a professional or semi-professional wage for playing.

The Government awards scheme is based on the GAA-GPA agreement of earlier in the year, which was framed specifically as expenses to defray costs, a schedule of out-of-pocket spending that could legitimately be reimbursed.

By accepting that schedule Central Council formally ratified the payments as expenses, not earnings.

None of the above should obviate the need to bring Rule 11 into line with current realities, which clearly permit payment "in conjunction with the playing of Gaelic games". But neither should the rule be invoked whenever it suits just because the GPA is unpopular in certain quarters.

At least that's my view. ...