GAA review into Donegal GAA shows a need for significant change

The GAA review into the talent academy, finance and governance structures has recommended that there will need to be significant changes into how Gaelic games are run in the county.

A joint Central/Ulster GAA team carried out the review and based their findings on information gained through an extensive engagement process and documentation received from Donegal GAA Management Committee and County Committee members, staff, clubs, parents, and Academy personnel.

The report was compiled by Ulster GAA chairperson Ciarán McLaughlin, who also headed up the committee, Shane Flanagan (GAA director of games development), Michelle McAleer (GAA head of internal audit), Jack Cooney (GAA national player development lead), Seamus Kenny (GAA national participation and programmes manager) and Roger Keenan (Ulster GAA coaching development manager).

From the six main areas of observation - governance of county committees, finance, audit, human resources, safeguarding and talent academy - there are 24 subsections in all, with 14 of those labelled “high risk” findings, with eight medium and two low.

High risk, a per the report, is defined as “Our finding represents a significant weakness in the current control environment, financial management or governance and required immediate action by management.”

The club secretaries of the county received the report at 11:40pm on Wednesday, after the review committee presented its findings to county committee, as well as club chairpersons and secretaries, on Tuesday in Ballybofey.

An interim Head of Operations will be appointed from Ulster GAA/Central GAA to work closely with Donegal Management and County Committees to begin the implementation of the recommendations in the report.

This person will assess the needs of Donegal GAA and align these to the personnel specification for a new Head of Operations position. This role will have responsibilities separate to the County Administration Manager.

Rules of county convention were not adhered to in 2022, with audited reports issued only on the day last December, with greater transparency called for and question-marks over whether the county auditor should be a county committee member.

“Audited accounts for a County Committee must be sent to Club Secretaries and Members of the outgoing County Committee, at least one week before the Convention,” the report said.

“The audited accounts for Donegal GAA are required to be audited in accordance with current Accounting Standards and should be prepared with greater transparency to ensure better understanding for those who are approving them. To maintain independence, it would be advisable for the County auditor to review their ability to remain as a member of the County Committee.”

For an appointment of team management, it was suggested that a fully transparent selection process is put in place, including a panel to include independent personnel declarations of Interest monitored throughout the confidential process and advised that selection panel members do not become liaisons/advisors of the appointed management team.

Some members of County Committee are employed or consultants of County Committee, which affects the integrity of decision-making, so there should be a Declaration of Interest agenda item at each meeting

A quote from a December 2022 meeting appeared in a national newspaper. A transcript of a County Committee meeting was sent to a emdia outlet. This is a breach of County Management Committee and County Committee Code of Conduct. It was recommended that Donegal GAA adopt and adhere to Code of Conduct and Confidentiality Policies.

“With no Human Resources procedures in place, HR Management policies and procedures should be documented and utilised within Donegal GAA going forward,” the report added.

In finance, it was reported that there are a lack of financial policies and procedures in place within Donegal GAA. Bank mandate was not up to date, with an online banking system allowing for single authorised payments. Sample testing showed that some payments do not have sufficient backup. The finance function is performed by several personnel, but clear roles and responsibilities are not agreed with a lack of information on a current finance committee being set up.

No Management Accounts are prepared during the financial year, thus a current financial position for Donegal GAA is not available. There are no month end checklists or procedures carried out to ensure that all the financial position is accurately reflected at each period end. There is no written procedure in place for the use of the Donegal GAA credit card.

Therefore, receipts for expenses incurred were not always retained on file; there was no monthly approval process on credit card spend. It was stressed that “It is important to note that the sample tested did not indicate any misuse of the credit card and our recommendations are based on good practice advice.”

In fundraising, a committee was established in 2019 to manage a ‘House Draw’ to raise funds for the Donegal GAA training centre development. The initial draw date had been set for 9th May 2020, but this was then delayed until 4th Dec 2020 due to the impact of the Covid pandemic.

The draw was hugely successful and achieved a surplus of €806,000. Donegal GAA rely heavily on current Commercial partnerships, Club levies and Central GAA/Ulster GAA grants to fund the operations of the County Committee. There have been no significant fundraising initiatives since December 2020 which has affected the county’s ability to fund its commitments.

Donegal GAA was told to be financially sustainable with the ability to invest in their strategic objectives, witrh expertise and skill available through support within the County and in Dublin, London and beyond.

“‘Club Donegal’ could be rebranded as a new PR/Fundraising Committee of Donegal GAA. The fundraising would be delegated to this committee and the County Chairperson/Treasurer and PRO could be part of this committee,” the report said. “Examples of similar models: Club Tyrone/Saffron Business Forum/Club Derry/Club Eirne. All income would be recognised in Donegal GAA accounts and not outside County Committee activities. The income received could be ringfenced for Team expense/Development Squads/Donegal GAA centre – future development/maintenance/debt repayment.

“The newly established Donegal GAA Audit & Risk Committee will play a key role in overseeing the implementation of the finance and governance recommendations of this review”.

The Donegal Academy was set up in January 2021, under Academy Karl Lacey, who resignation earlier this year was seen as the catalyst for the review.

Donegal Talent Academy “represented a very good structure, was well-organised, had a sound player-focused philosophy with good planning principles in place. While engagement with parents and schools was excellent at this point, there was less engagement with club and club coaches as part of this early process. However, there were plans to develop and improve this engagement in year three.

“Parental engagement was very strong with ongoing communication. Parents were very complimentary and supportive of the academy programme. They really valued their child's experience. They firmly endorsed the programme.

“Coaches were committed and enthused to be involved in the academy programme. Coach education and development opportunities were provided through a number of leading coaches from a variety of sports. Club coaches were invited to observe sessions with further progress planned for 2023. More cooperation is required to ensure greater coherence.”

In terms of safeguarding, not all coaches and personnel had completed safeguarding training or been Garda vetted and there was a reminder that there are minimum coaching qualifications required for coaches to fill positions.

Appointing an interim lead coach by a temporary lead group featuring Ulster and national GAA figures is recommended and a review of the post-primary schools structure and development is called for, as is ironing out the availability of U-17 players in particular.

Post-Primary Schools were identified as requiring further review. Only one school in the county participates in the MacRory Cup. Athletic Development session in 12 schools have been seen as a welcome initiative. Parents have been very supportive and have seen benefits to this. Improved collaboration and focus are required. Hurling is not part of the current academy which needs to be reviewed.

A bank account, external to County Committee operations, had been set up in June 2022 in the name of ‘Friends of Donegal Youth Academy’. There were no transactions in the bank account. Approval had been sought from members of the County Management Committee in July 2022 for a GoFundMe page. The page called ‘Friends of Donegal GAA Academy’ was opened with the intentions of raising funds for the 2023 Academy season.

It has been confirmed that a cheque was made out to a member of the Academy set-up for €250 for a night out for the Academy personnel. There has been speculation that other funding had been gathered but these claims have not been substantiated by supporting evidence.

Clarity of reporting lines and accountability were not communicated when the Talent Academy was established. Several activity reviews were presented to members of the County Management over 2021/22.