Councillor questions level of funding given to Dublin G.A.A.

FIANNA FAIL General Election candidate, Cllr. Lisa McDonald, has called on the Dáil Committee for Sport to formally investigate the imbalance of funding that Dublin G.A.A. receives on an annual basis via €4.4 million in taxpayer funding provided by Sport Ireland to the Association.

‘There is a clear geographical imbalance in how the G.A.A. are allocating taxpayers’ monies to counties across the country, and the G.A.A. has been far too slow in addressing what is now a major issue for our national games,’ she said.

‘Minister for Sport, Shane Ross, should, as a matter of urgency, ask the G.A.A. to come in front of this Dáil Committee to explain their rationale for this continuing imbalance and their lack of action in addressing (same).

In 2017, Dublin received €1.29 million in direct funding but based on registered teams, should have only received €648,900.

‘Meanwhile, my own county, Wexford, received only €154,797 in 2017 and should have received €259,245.

‘Even the likes of Cork, who would be considered the next biggest county, only received €249,000 in 2017 and should have received €763,324,’ she added.

‘The funding does not correlate on the grounds of number of teams or population and is just plain unfair. The listing of imbalances goes on and on and the impact of the cumulative effect of this imbalance over the last ten years can be seen in how uncompetitive the Leinster football championship has become.

‘In Wexford, our voluntary County Board officers work very hard on fundraising every year and putting significant investment into top-class facilities, such as our new Centre of Excellence in Ferns for our under-age hurlers and footballers, but it is a real uphill challenge trying to compete with Dublin on all fronts when funding is quite literally put on a plate for them.

‘Clubs in Dublin have in some cases better finances than some of the smaller counties and there is no need for this level of support to continue through taxpayers’ monies.’

Cllr. McDonald stated that she will be formally writing to the committee and Minister for Sport this week and asking to put the matter on the committee’s agenda for the coming months.

‘For any team to win four All-Irelands in a row is a major achievement and this request for investigation does not intend to take away from this, rather provide a level playing field going forward so counties like Wexford and others in Leinster can compete with Dublin in the coming years.’