They weren't exactly dipping their hands into a huge bowl of euro notes and tossing it nonchalantly up into the air -- a la Fr Ted's wildest dreams -- in their second-floor headquarters on Drumcondra Road yesterday.

But the temptation, after a hard 10-year struggle, to do so in a private moment must have been there among some of the Gaelic Players' Association officers who have been at the coalface for so long.

In any economic climate, straitened or otherwise, €1.1m is a lot of money to spend. Sure, it's not the 5pc cut they lobbied for last July, but as a starting point how realistic was that anyway?

As it is, the GPA might find it difficult to spend what it will have and with only outline headings and projections to work off, this really is a shot in the dark and an act of faith for both the GPA and GAA.

It's not in the bank yet of course. The GPA must come up with projects and initiatives costed to meet that figure on an annual basis. And they must make sure they work and are worthwhile.

Based on the Irish Sports Council funding model, the GPA will make a submission to the GAA on a particular venture before funding is approved. After that, the GAA insist the checks and balances will be heavily scrutinised.

Naturally there is an obvious question that every GAA member is now entitled to ask: how will the money be spent? Will there be tangible evidence, apart from the silence of the guns, that the money will be well spent? How transparent will the whole process be?

The agreement and the money puts the GPA on an entirely different footing from what it has been used to for the last decade. The GAA will hope the GPA can use its influence to prevent, rather than stoke up, player discord in counties, but if a group of players are unhappy with the services provided by a manager then there won't be a lot any players' body can do to shift them in a different direction.

The pressure is now on the GPA more than the GAA to deliver these services for enhanced player welfare. It's a different challenge from the agitation of the past but, given how they're so proactive in creating an outlet for employment for its members during the summer and their commercial schemes, it's clear that they are geared for such a challenge.

Some outline headings have already been presented to the GAA during the period of discussions, headings that the GAA are satisfied with.

But away from the administration costs of €250,000 per annum, which has been ring-fenced away from the central pot, finding holes for the €1.1m could be a significant task as much as educating the players on what's available to them.

The GPA have looked towards the AFL model among other places to bring their idea of player welfare within the GAA to another level. They have been working on initiatives under these headings during the year anyway before the weekend deal was finalised. Among them are:

Health and Medical

The GPA is in the process of setting up nationwide counselling services for its members which will obviously extend now to all inter-county players, even those with no allegiance to the players' body.

The GPA have apparently found depression and alcoholism to be higher than one would expect among the inter-county population.

Education

The GPA already operates a scholarship system which, with new funding, will now be substantially enhanced to incorporate more players at a higher number of colleges.

They also intend to provide training and upskilling facilities for inter-county players who have lost employment or are out of work. Career guidance for inter-county players is also on the cards, which will tie in with the jobs initiative launched this year.

Past Players

A 'hardship' fund already exists within the GAA and is administered confidentially but, under a new GPA initiative, it is intended to set up a past-players' advisory group and undertake to fund former players who need surgery (knee and hip replacements, etc) as a consequence of their playing careers or have fallen on hard times.

Determining that these injuries have come from playing inter-county football will be an obvious problem but, given the high rate of cases that apparently exist, this scheme has the potential to absorb a substantial amount of the €1.1m. Such benevolence is unlikely to extend to current players, but this could be conceived as flouting the rules on amateurism.

Insurance top-ups

The GPA are looking at improved insurance, above and beyond what the GAA already has in place for inter-county players, another initiative that could punch a fair hole in the €1.1m balance.

Other initiatives have been spoken about but have not yet been put down on paper. For now, though, the GPA have enough to be doing getting through the wad that has already been made available to them.

- Colm Keys

Irish Independent