GAELIC GAMES NEWS:DUBLIN COUNTY board chief executive John Costello has highlighted what he sees as an opportunity for GAA units to take advantage of the newly established National Asset Management Agency.

In his annual report to next Monday’s county convention, Costello argues that the association, especially in the capital, can benefit from the vast land bank that the agency is expected to charged with administering.

“The recent establishment of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) and the late inclusion, during the committee stage debate, of the legislation, of “community development” within its terms of reference, represents a huge once-off opportunity for the association.

“With particular regard to Dublin, we need to engage with Nama as soon as it is up and running and apprise them of our requirements. Each club should use its local intelligence to identify potentially suitable lands which might end up coming within the control of Nama.”

Costello goes on to identify a similar opportunity in other areas: "In the same vein, the recent flooding publicity and the recent publication of guidelines to local authorities banning housing development on flood plains, following the publication of The Planning System and Flood Risk Management, offers further opportunities for the development of playing fields.

“The occasional flooding of certain playing fields should not be a major inconvenience for clubs. However, the preservation of the land as flood plains would be ensured in compliance with flood risk management strategies. With some lateral thinking, it is possible to achieve a “win-win” situation.

“The fallout from the publication of various reports into institutional child sexual abuse by Religious Orders will give rise to the ceding of lands to the State. Some of these lands are already in use as playing fields and some of our units already use them in agreement with the orders.

“Again, clubs should apprise themselves of appropriate opportunities within their catchments and keep them under review with a view to making appropriate approaches at the opportune time.”

Costello has also called for extensive reform of the football championship, arguing that the provincial system should be abolished and questioning the continuing validity of the All-Ireland qualifiers format.

“I would argue that we have become hostage to both history and geography for too long. I would support the introduction of four Conferences (north, south, east, west) to replace the provinces of Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht with the geographical boundaries (for the purposes of the All-Ireland SFC Series) being redrawn so that the same (or as close as) number of counties are participating in each of the conferences.

“There is no simple answer to the juggling act that is involved in attempting to weld a lob-sided traditional provincial structure to a national championship, especially when one province involves as many as 12 counties and another less than half that.

“However, if we don’t travel that route there are possible solutions to some of the problems, which currently arise. According the provincial winners parity and the “luxury” of being able to lose one game like all of the other competing teams could be examined if we are hell bent on preserving our provincial structures.

“Getting the four provincial winners to play each other after the provincial competitions run their course, with two winners advancing to the semi-finals and the two defeated teams playing two counties from the qualifiers, is one suggestion. I ask the following questions: has the system as we know it served its function and run its course? Has the time for a real review arrived?”

Meanwhile the Northern Ireland Office’s refusal to accept that major fires at two GAA clubs in Tyrone were arson attacks has sparked a sharp rise in the county board’s Property and Public Liability Insurance premium.

The clubhouse at Edendork was destroyed, while Cookstown’s facilities were severely damaged in the attacks last year, but no compensation has been paid out by the NIO.

In his annual report county secretary Dominic McCaughey says frustration and uncertainty have continued to prevail over the issue: “It is a matter of the most serious concern that the damage to and destruction of the properties of Cookstown and Edendork had to be included in the county’s claims’ history because of the failure of the NIO to accept that these were indeed arson attacks.”

The clubs concerned would automatically qualify for compensation if the criminal damage was either caused by three or more people acting unlawfully, or as a result of terrorist activities as evidenced by a Chief Constable’s Certificate issued by the PSNI.

Compensation would have been available if the clubs’ premises were categorised as “community halls”. However, GAA halls and clubrooms are not recognised as community facilities, something that the Ulster Council has been lobbying to change.

“At this time it is still not clear that these clubs’ claims will be discounted from the claims’ history to be used in the determination of the 2010 premium to be charged to Tyrone,” McCaughey added.