Equality will take a step forward this morning when it is expected that the Government will make an announcement extending the grants for inter county players in the GAA to those playing within Camogie and Ladies Football.
The announcement would also signify the continuation of the scheme for the men, negotiations around which were paused by the General Election earlier this year.
When the grants were introduced in 2007 they amounted to a total of €3.5 million but that figure had fallen substantially through the recession and the figure agreed for distribution in 2015 was below €1 million.
The individual grants are generally in the hundreds rather than thousands but they do make a difference to players who give up so much time and energy during the year for no financial reward.
There will inevitably be questions from some sectors over whether the men’s and women’s games should be treated equally given the disparity in revenue and support but it is worth their bearing in mind that over 33,000 attended last year’s All Ireland Ladies Football Final while less than 3,000 were present last Sunday for the Tipperary Men’s Footballers beating Cork in their Munster Championship semi final.
With major sponsors Liberty Insurance, Lidl and TG4 lined up behind the Women’s games and with player numbers and engagement rising as they are in other sports around the world, the age of Women’s sport is right here, right now.
A move towards equal payment, if it is announced today, would send a strong message that would reach far beyond the boundaries of the local parish.
