GAA, not taxpayers should pay GPA demands for higher player grants

The GAA has the begging bowl out again, through the Gaelic Players Association.

The GPA represents the GAA’s elite, high-performance, inter-county players, the top few per cent who compete at the highest level of Ireland’s national amateur sports.

GPA leaders last week lobbied for Government grants available to inter-county players to be increased to €2,500 per player. They want €4,000 grants per player by 2030.

According to the GPA’s pre-Budget submission, inter-county players currently get an average Government grant of €1,400 per year.

That’s about €120 per month, or €155 excluding the ‘off-season’ when inter-county players are not supposed to be training collectively.

But the GPA said the “personal cost of participation continues to rise”. On average, players are out of pocket by more than €4,600 each year and face a “net professional loss” of €5,500, it said.

This figure includes loss of earnings from not being able to do overtime, because they’re too busy playing their chosen sports.

The GPA also floated the idea of replacing grants with a tax-relief scheme for GAA sportspeople.

For an amateur organisation, tax relief is possibly more palatable than direct payments. But from a Government perspective on Budget day, they’re essentially the same thing, and will cost roughly the same.

GPA grants currently cost the State €5.6 million and the GPA said this should almost double to €10m by 2026.

According to independent research quoted by the GPA, inter-county players generated €591 million in “total economic impact” in 2023.

It included €62.3m “Exchequer contributions through taxation and economic activity”. It’s unclear what makes up that figure.

Does it include VAT on replica county jerseys bought by supporters? And tax generated from the obligatory snack boxes devoured by hungry fans in Supermac’s after championship matches?

What was conspicuously absent from the GPA submission, was income and perks that inter-county players derive from being inter-county players.

No mention of car sponsorship or ambassador deals with local garages and brands. No mention of revenue generated from advertisements and product placement on their social media accounts, which are higher profile because of their positions.

No mention of free meals and gym memberships and products gifted by companies trying to sell to their GAA fanbase. No mention of the appearance fees offered by new businesses, or clubs looking for stars at medal presentations.

Nobody begrudges elite players these benefits. And it is only the big stars who benefit. More power to them. But the GPA must factor that into the overall mix when it’s looking for taxpayers’ money.

The GPA argued that some players miss out on promotion opportunities at work because of their sports commitment. But aren’t some elite players hired – by banks and schools – partly because of the status playing inter-county affords them?

Many GAA people agree that inter-county players deserve more grants to cover the time commitments.

But why should Government foot the bill, when the GAA makes a killing on Oasis and American Football events at Croke Park, a stadium partly funded by the taxpayer?