CAPITAL GAINS TAX
Dublin funds decrease on the cards as Ryan reveals finance plan
DUBLIN’S games development funding looks set to be slashed, while “the overwhelming majority of counties will see a significant increase”, according to GAA director general Tom Ryan.
The level of central funding afforded to Dublin has been a vexed issue for a number of years now, with the €21m or so that has been funnelled into the capital since 2007 dwarfing what every other county has received in that timeframe.
With the publication of the GAA’S financial report for 2021 yesterday, it was revealed that Dublin received €745,278 from the total central pot of €4,652,024 allocated to games development with Antrim next on €199,439.
Speaking as he issued his annual report yesterday, Ryan said: “I don’t want to get into too much in terms of specific named counties but it’s fair to say there will be a diminution of coaching and games funding for at least one county and the overwhelming majority of counties will see a significant increase.”
The pandemic has resulted in overall games development funding dropping considerably but, once normality is fully restored, it is expected that around €12m will be devoted to it per annum.
Of that, it is proposed that it be divided into two portions on a 75 per cent-25 per cent basis.
Ryan explained: “The bigger part of it will be a base level of funding that will be available to every county to fund what they need to do coaching and games-wise. That will be divided proportionally between the counties using three criteria.
“So 60 per cent of the funding [ from the 75 per cent portion] will be divided among the counties based on the proportion of players in each county, 25 per cent of the funding will be allocated between counties on the proportion of clubs that there are in each county and the remaining 15 per cent will be allocated based on participation rate percentages of each county.”
The 25 per cent portion would be “allocated to counties based on specific business cases for projects.”
Dublin’s ability to generate far more commercial revenue than their rivals has led to calls for them to find their own games development programme and, separate to the above, former Westmeath footballer John Connellan has led a campaign calling for such funding to be distributed based on how many registered players there are in each county.
Connellan (left, facing Dublin in 2006) recently expressed frustration at a motion to that effect failing to make it to GAA Congress in Mayo later this month despite the support of six counties. But while it won’t be voted on by delegates, it will be discussed at a Central Council meeting at Congress.
Ryan added: “We will be debating the merits of those two ideas at Central Council. We’ve spent the last little while talking to counties about the first model that I set out.”