GAA respond cautiously to gender quotas proposal

The GAA have responded cautiously to the gender quotas proposal, advanced by the Minister of State for Sport, Patrick O'Donovan. The association wasn't consulted in advance and is at pains to point out its support for increased participation by women but also the need for further discussion.

According to a spokesperson: “As a family based organisation the GAA welcomes efforts to increase the participation of women and girls across the sporting spectrum. A growing number of ladies have taken on officer roles in recent years, a trend we hope to see continue.

“However, democracy lies at the heart of the process that facilitates the appointment of the vast majority of our officials and in light of this morning’s announcement a wider discussion is now required to assess its potential impact.

“The GAA was not involved in drawing up the gender quota plan and will now take the opportunity to study it in detail with the relevant internal forums before commenting further.”

The situation is complicated for Croke Park in that the numbers of girls and women playing Gaelic games, while thriving, are administered by two independent organisations, Cumann Camógaíochta and Cumann Peil na mBan.

The GAA’s governing body is the Management Committee, which is made up of up to 14 voting members only two of whom are not elected or present ex officio.