A GRANTS scheme
recognising the contribution of senior inter-county
GAA players has been welcomed by two Donegal
senators.
The Sports Council of Ireland will award €3.5
million in grants to meet the costs of enhancing
team performance while players, in turn, will work
closely with Local Sports Partnerships on a
programme of visits to schools and youth clubs to
increase participation in sports.
“This agreement may have taken some time to come to
fruition but I am confident that it is one that will
benefit the players and their communities alike,"
said Senator Brian O Domhnaill.
“Our GAA teams prepare and train to the highest
international standards for team sports. The current
scheme of tax relief for professional sports people
cannot be applied to Gaelic players because of their
amateur status.
"These new schemes will be of great benefit to the
up and coming GAA stars in Donegal." Meanwhile,
Senator O Domhnaill's Fianna Fáil colleague, Senator
Cecilia Keaveney urged the grants programme
co-ordinators not to forget that GAA sports were
played by both men and women.
“The GAA is made up of two genders and not one. In
an era when we talk a good talk on gender equality
and when ladies football is one of the fastest
growing sports, it is important that any new scheme
embraces them," said Senator Keaveney.
"It shocked me that in the era we are in, that
ladies from the camogie sector had to intervene to
get their voice heard now. I really did think that
those who would have negotiated this type of
positive role-modelling project through our national
sports would not have been caught in the
stereotypical and historical mode of seeing sport as
a male only domain." |
