GAELIC GAMES NEWS ROUND-UPPÁRAIC DUFFY, the GAA director general, has strongly indicated that the question of amending Rule 11, governing the association's amateur status, will not arise in the context of the players' awards scheme debate at next month's annual congress.
He was briefing journalists at yesterday's AIB provincial player awards presentation in the sponsor's Bankcentre in Dublin.
Duffy, who as player welfare manager was one of the GAA's negotiators of the awards scheme, said the details of the payments schedule for intercounty players were being finalised.
"We have to have it from March 17th and that's two weeks away, but we will have it for that and will present it to Central Council on that day. After that it will go out to all the counties and people will talk about it. There's a motion on the agenda for congress, a very clear, definitive motion.
"The idea is that the motion to congress will ask people to look at the agreement and see if it's in compliance with Rule 11. The whole aim is to present a document that is in compliance with Rule 11. It won't require a change. The motion will ask congress to support the agreement on the basis that it is in compliance with Rule 11."
The practical impact of a declaratory motion as proposed is that it won't require the weighted, two-thirds majority needed to change a rule.
In the three months since Central Council approved the scheme in principle there has been a campaign by some GAA members, who have established a pressure group Of One Belief, to oppose the awards on the grounds that they contravene the association's rules on amateur status.
The fact that the matter will be debated at congress is already a victory of sorts for the opposition, as the GAA administration at head office level didn't originally envisage the need for congress approval, believing that the proposals would not be in conflict with the official guide.
"The original draft of the document was presented to Central Council back in December and supported," said Duffy. "It's fair to say that we felt that once Central Council had accepted it that would be sufficient. Having said that, we accept the rights of people to raise the matter. That's what the GAA is about and what congress is about.
"Everybody's entitled to put a motion on the agenda for congress. We accept that, and maybe that's better for everyone. That will be the final decision and there'll be no arguments after that."
Among the arguments being advanced publicly by Of One Belief is that the awards scheme would transform intercounty players into professionals, according to the group's interpretation of certain judgments in the European Court of Justice.
Duffy said yesterday he wasn't disturbed by the likely impact of European law on the scheme.
"The final document will try to cover all angles. The key to this is that we have a rule on amateur status and any agreement has to be in compliance with Rule 11. It (the document) covers all legislative issues around that, but our aim is that the final document will show clearly that it is in compliance."
Were congress to reject the final document it would constitute a massive embarrassment for the GAA, given that negotiators duly appointed by Central Council reached an agreement on the awards with the Gaelic Players' Association and the Government.
The discussions between the three parties took place against the backdrop of a threatened national withdrawal of senior football and hurling panels from intercounty activity if the scheme, which the GPA had championed and for which they had been promised public funds, was not agreed and implemented.
Duffy says that whereas he is cautiously optimistic about the prospects of the scheme securing approval, it is up to delegates to make that decision.
"Congress will want to know that the document is in keeping with the rule. If it's clearly seen to be that way I would expect congress to pass it. If congress says, 'no, we don't accept this scheme', there's clearly a problem. Where that would move on from there isn't for me to say.
"Clearly there'd be a lot of very unhappy players. That's stating the obvious, but it's not for me to say what happens from there on."
In a further development yesterday, Of One Belief announced that their case against the scheme to be taken to the GAA's Disputes Resolution Authority had been suggested for listing on March 14th. Previously the matter had been adjourned pending congress but reactivated when it was announced that Central Council's likely motion for debate would not be proposing a change to Rule 11.
The date has yet to be confirmed.
