One in five parents can’t afford to get their kids into sport, claims a new study - but a top GAA club last night doubted the findings.
Researchers quizzed a pool of 1,000 parents across the country and 20% insisted they couldn’t cough up to keep their kids active.
But one GAA club cast serious doubt over claims that cash is a barrier to children’s involvement in sport.
Chairperson of the St John’s Volunteers GAA Club in Wexford, Dermot O’Brien, told the Irish Mirror that a child would never be turned away.
He urged all families to give the GAA a go.
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Mr O’Brien said: “If we got wind of anyone at all and we have, people from different social backgrounds, who are struggling, we’ve made every effort to help.
“Money should never be a hurdle and it’s not to be fair, not in the GAA anyhow.”
The club’s underage membership is a one-off YEARLY charge of €5.
Kids pay a weekly fee of €2, which pays for hire of a school hall for training.
“But that said, if you’re down there collecting money and there’s a young child that comes in and hasn’t got money are you going to turn her away?
"No. Never would that happen. Not a hope of it.”
He added: “There’s no one putting any pressure on anyone to buy club gear or anything, because some people might not be able to afford it and you don’t want to pressurise them.”
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The survey, commissioned by Kelloggs ahead of Tuesday's launch of this year’s GAA Cul Camps, also revealed that 60% of parents don’t know how much exercise their kids need daily.
Meanwhile, 86% of those asked blamed technology for keeping kids indoors.
Mr O’Brien added that clubs are pulling out all of the stops to attract new members from an early age.
“We would have done stuff like given gear to schools that would cost us money, but it would promote sport.
“Buying equipment keeps them exercising.
“Health and Wellbeing initiatives that’s the whole kind of thing that the GAA want right now. And it’s more than that, it’s about being part of the community.
“We’ve done everything we can to get ethnic minorities involved.”
