Mr. Páraic Duffy:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to update it on issues around governance, gender quotas, funding and the sports capital programme and on the challenges and strategies that currently face the GAA. The GAA is a community-based volunteer organisation with a network of 1,600 clubs in Ireland and 400 overseas. Our vision is that everybody has the opportunity to be welcomed to take part in our games and culture, to participate fully, to grow and develop and to be inspired to keep a lifelong engagement with the association.

In terms of governance, the GAA is run as a democratic organisation in accordance with the rules and constitution which are available on the GAA website. All officers at club and county level are elected, with the exception of a small number of full-time employees, and that is mirrored across the operations of four provincial councils. Between the association's annual congress, the organisation at national level is run by a central council and the management committee. The vast majority of those serving on the committees are also elected.

Good governance lies at the heart of the GAA's activities, exemplified by the transparent nature of its financial practices. All accounts, at every level of the association, are published, shared with the relevant membership and distributed to the media. The GAA enforces a five-year term limit for county officers with terms at provincial and national level limited to three years. A recently published governance guide, which I have attached with the submission, applies to all units of the association and to all its members, volunteers, officials and employees. It outlines key roles and responsibilities, the formal governance policies to be implemented in respect of conflict of interest, term limits, grievance and disciplinary procedures, data protection and information security, diversity and equality, and the Speaking Up policy.

The GAA is an inclusive family-based entity that offers and promotes a role for everyone within the games and administrative structure and is fully committed to the core principle of inclusivity. However, it is worth pointing out that with the exception of some under-age activity, the games are played by boys and men. Although they are independent organisations, we work closely with An Cumann Camógaíochta and the Ladies Gaelic Football Association in the promotion and support of their games. Ladies football and camogie are generally played on GAA grounds and there is a huge overlap in the membership of all three organisations and a sharing of resources, sponsors and partners. An increased number of females have emerged in GAA officer positions in recent years at club and county level, reflecting the expanded role of women in clubs. We are supportive of efforts to encourage greater female participation at all levels of administration within the GAA and believe that, given the increase in such involvement that is already taking place, a better balance of gender membership will occur naturally in the coming years.

In terms of funding and the sports capital programme, in 2016 the GAA received Sport Ireland funding of €2.4 million for which we are extremely grateful. The funding supports the deployment of games development personnel nationwide who are responsible for the implementation of the various activities under the auspices of the grassroots to national programme. From central level in Croke Park, we contribute a further €7.9 million with a similar total investment from provinces and counties. That has enabled us to boost participation numbers. For example, 2016 saw the GAA set a new record in the number of children in the five to 13 years age group who attended the Kellogg's Cúl camps. There were 1,200 camps held across all 32 counties in 2016. These were attended by 127,473 boys and girls, an increase of 25% on 2015. In addition, the number of children aged between ten and 12 who are registered as GAA members increased from 39,778 in 2010 to 61,487 in 2015. The games development personnel provided in excess of 17,000 coaching sessions to approximately 258,000 primary school pupils during 2015.

The return of the sports capital programme has been a most welcome development. Our units embrace its potential fully and its absence frustrated their ambitions for growth and further development. It is important to make the point that, while allocations from the sports capital programme are vital in allowing sporting bodies to provide improved facilities for members and communities, clubs must raise a considerable amount of money on their own initiative in order to bring their plans to fruition.

I will outline our challenges and strategies. As an organisation we are working towards completion in the implementation of our 2015-17 strategic plan that I have attached with my submission. The key goals of the plan are as follows: to increase player and member participation and support the continued growth of the association; improve support for county and club volunteers; implement a governance code that will strengthen all units of the association; improve the financial, commercial and fundraising framework for our units; utilise all communication platforms to engage effectively with players, coaches, administrators, members, supporters and the wider public; and develop our partnership with ladies football and camogie.

We are confident that we will have met most of these targets by the end of the year but acknowledge that we face many challenges. In particular, the GAA is striving to cope with the growth in population in urban areas and the decline in rural Ireland. We have witnessed a pattern of declining rural population, which has been accompanied by a gradual diminution of services in rural areas. We have witnessed the closure of rural Garda stations, post offices and banks, a reduction in transport links and a growing threat to GP services. Also, broadband roll-out has been much slower than is needed to sustain a rural economy. There has been a decline in employment in all rural towns at the same time as larger urban centres and cities have continued to grow. Young people also move to the larger population centres for a third level education and often must stay there in order to pursue employment opportunities. If they cannot find employment, they emigrate. The consequences for the GAA are serious and have already had a negative impact on rural clubs all over the country, in particular clubs in counties along the west coast. For many clubs, this has meant a reduction in the number of teams available to compete in county competitions and for others that has been a struggle to remain in existence. The decline of rural Ireland is a crisis that is not within the power of the GAA to resolve, but it is a problem that must be a priority for the Government.