Munster grant in lieu of field rent

Clare and Waterford GAA officials will ask Munster council secretary Pat Fitzgerald to back up comments made in his annual report – about how grants allocated to the counties weren’t always spent on specific projects – at this Friday’s provincial convention.
In a report issued this week ahead of the convention at Lawlors Hotel in Dungarvan (7.30pm), the Munster secretary says, “Over the years this council has allocated grants to Clare and Waterford towards maintenance and upkeep of their respective county grounds. I am somehow sceptical that this funding was at all times spent on such projects and I believe that in future, before allocating such grants, we should work with these counties to decide how these monies are spent and identify what issues or work we want prioritised.”
Speaking to The Clare Champion on Wednesday, the Munster official sought to clarify the statement, “we give an annual grant to Clare and Waterford in lieu of field rent. It recognises that Clare and Waterford are not getting as many field rents as the other counties in the province. Over the last five years, Clare received €105,000 in lieu of field rents from the council and this money should be used to keep the stadiums upgraded and maintained. All I am saying is that we (the council) should sit down with officials in these counties and specify what jobs we want done.”
Asked for a response to the Munster official’s comments, his namesake Clare County Board secretary, Pat Fitzgerald, said, “This money is in lieu of field rent. On the advice of our consultant, we have a sand mastering programme in place at Cusack Park for the last five years which costs €52,000. During that time we spent €42,000 on pitch drainage. On top of that there is the cost of cutting and manuring the pitch.”
Some years ago the provincial body agreed to pay an annual grant to Clare and Waterford in lieu of field grants because due to their locations at the periphery of the province, they weren’t in a position to get as many fixtures as the other four counties.
All of the outgoing officers will be returned for another term at this Friday’s meeting. Clare’s Robert Frost is the council vice-chairman and he will step up to the chairman’s role in 12 months time.