Prenty calls for 'runaway inter-county GAA expenses train' to be derailed

CONNAUGHT GAA Council secretary John Prenty has issued a stark and very strong warning over the costs of running senior inter-county football teams which is running out of control.

What he described as a 'runaway train' showed an increase of 100% in the running costs of teams in the province.

In 2010 expenditure was €6,095,063. It rose to €7,575,420 in 2014 and last year it reached €11,920,150 for running inter-county teams in Connaught.

In his report which was delivered at the annual convention of the Connaught GAA Council, Mr. Prenty also warned that the demands being placed by the inter-county game on the players to the point that they claim that it is a burden on them to play the game and that the demands of their team managers is becoming too much.

“This is a game, a pastime that players and officials should enjoy,” he said.

He warned that the spiralling costs of running a senior team was getting out of control as 60% was being spent on inter-county game that caters for just 1 % of the total playing population.

“This runaway train shows a 100% increase between 2010 and 2019. A further analysis of the expenditure shows that, after direct and indirect costs are taken into account, almost 60% of the expenditure has been on the inter-county game which caters for just over 1% of the total playing population who are involved at the elite inter-county level.

“The copycat tactics of the county committees is driving the Association into the realm of elitism, commercialism and 'investment in the few over the general good of the Association'."

He said at the beginning of the decade, 2010, the country was in the midst of a deep recession following a number of years of excessive spending by the people of Ireland.

“Most of us had been living above our means following years of 'keeping up with the Jones'. Have we, as an Association and our county committees, in particular, learned anything from the excesses of the past?

“It appears from the evidence of the past 10 years that we have learned very little. Our counties have slowly increased their expenditure, year-on-year, due in the main to copycat tactics and the mistaken notion that we must keep up with the perceived expenditure of so-called successful counties.

“An examination of the total expenditure of our five county committees in the past decade clearly has the warning signs flashing again.

“The demands of inter-county team managers and players is increasing exponentially to the point that they must train more, have more professional staff involved and, consequently, we must spend more.

“Recent reports of the ESRI highlights the demands being placed by the inter-county game on the players to the point that they claim that it is a burden on them to play the game and that the demands of their team managers is becoming too much. This is a game, a pastime that players and officials should enjoy.

“Surely the GPA, as the voice of the players, must have a role in addressing the welfare of their members by engaging with the team managers to ensure that players are not being burnt out and that the demands being placed on them is balanced.

"The elite inter-county player is a valuable role model for our young players in their local communities.

"They should and are being looked after as is highlighted in our expenditure analysis, which does not take into account the infrastructural spend on providing the necessary facilities for the playing of our games.”

He also challenged the GPA on the matter concerning player welfare.

“Surely the GPA, as the voice of the players, must have a role in addressing the welfare of their members by engaging with the team managers to ensure that players are not being burnt out and that the demands being placed on them is balanced," he added.