Full integration of all of the Gaelic Games organisations could cost up to €1 billion, according to research put together by the Irish Examiner last week.
Having surveyed leading GAA figures for that estimation, it’s believed that that number would encompass the expenses associated with the construction of new pitches, dressing rooms and other upgrades.
Currently an independent audit of the facilities available to the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association is underway, under the instruction of the GAA integration Steering Group, which is chaired by former President of Ireland Mary McAleese.
The 10-figure sum is anticipated to have incorporated a move towards greater parity between men and women within the GAA, with equal opportunity part of the key messaging put forward by the chairpersons and McAleese at the most recent integration update at the end of February.
I find these stories about what it will cost 'the GAA' to do this sort of hilariously enraging.
"But where will we find the money? Where will we find the space?"
IT'S HARD ISN'T IT? THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING FOREVER! THAT'S OUR LIFE AND JOB IN SPORT SINCE FOREVER. ARGHHHHHH https://t.co/vMelGVfAoa— Sinéad O'Carroll (@SineadOCarroll) April 11, 2024
Up to this point, no official estimation has been provided, although the projected date for full integration has been set for 2027.
GAA President Jarlath Burns has said that a formal number will be put forward when that audit has been completed, mentioning that “if three is going to become one… there is going to be a greater need for extra pitches and extra facilities.”
“Now, I’m not going to put a figure on it. The previous infrastructure chair John Murphy who is now a trustee of the Association has a figure on it,” he added.
“But what I have asked is the new infrastructure committee chair led by Seán Michael O’Regan from Waterford to come up with a 10-year infrastructure strategy, something like the FAI have already done in that very impressive document.
“If we mirror that, I think before we start running for funds there can be an acceptance that we already invest multiple millions in our facilities and if this is going to happen it’s going to be a new challenge for all of us, and if we are the people with the facilities we want to create the facilities commensurate with the needs of the ladies playing our games.”
The FAI document that Burns references outlines a €863m infrastructure plan over the next 15 years, with the football body aspiring for 60% of that ( or €517m) to be funded by the Exchequer.
The Examiner also noted that although “Murphy was not available for comment” that “well-placed sources reckon the amount of construction work required to achieve full integration will conservatively cost several hundred million.”
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Mary McAleese, a true icon ✨
As chairperson of the Steering Committee, she spoke at the update of the integration process of the GAA, The Camogie Association and The LGFA today, expressing that she hopes there will be ONE organisation come 2027.
💬“That’s iconic, that’s mega” pic.twitter.com/Ktjzh3G7Up— Her Sport (@HerSportDotIE) February 20, 2024
