Mount Sion chairman Seamie Cleere is concerned that the GAA injury benefit fund won't cover loss of wages in 2021.
In December, clubs were informed of a change to the scheme. Injured players, who are forced to take time off work, will no longer be covered by the fund for loss of earnings.
The GAA have decided to pause the wage cover as the fund recorded a deficit of €934,000 in 2020 with losses of between €1m and €2m predicted for 2021.
Three Mount Sion players have claimed wage cover in the last three years and Seamie Cleere fears that there will be big consequences later in the season if a player picks up a bad injury. "The major issue, as I see it, is that a lot of people haven't seen it and somebody will get a serious injury, be it inter county or club, and there'll be nothing there for them. The whole publicity that would come with it would be terrible. I think once it goes, it will be gone forever. That would be very disappointing. The one thing you would always be delighted with was the way we treated the players in the GAA. If they were injured, if they were out, if they were having operations, we always treated them well and you would be quite proud of that. Unfortunately, we're heading in this race to the bottom where we're not going to be doing that anymore and that's hugely disappointing."
Hear more from Seamie Cleere on Lár Na Páirce from 6.10 on WLR.
