SHOCK horror. GAA to tackle payment of managers. Again. It was with a jaundiced eye that Curve Ball initially read over the weekend that Christy Cooney was planning a crackdown on the long-established, nod-wink practice of paying GAA bosses at both club and county level.

But then, on second thoughts, we wondered ... is Christy just the man to sort out the impossible? After all, here was a president barely seven months in the job when he delivered a ground-breaking deal on GPA recognition, having come to office last April insisting he was not going to "rush" into addressing the then-stalled process.

Either way, we wish the Corkman well in his latest resolve, because the payment principle is now so ingrained that it's hard to remember a time when the GAA wasn't awash with 'outside' bosses receiving more than the going rate in legitimate 'expenses'. (Editor: Allegedly! Curve Ball: See you in the High Court!)

noises

Several previous presidents have made big noises either condemning these payments or threatening to tackle this "epidemic". Perhaps the most telling quote of all, though, was delivered much earlier this decade by another former president, Peter Quinn. Having chaired a committee set up by Sean McCague to investigate the payment of managers, the Fermanagh man admitted defeat in their quest to find proof.

To paraphrase Quinn, not alone could his committee not find any under-the-table payments, they couldn't even find the table!

Now Cooney, it seems, is planning a fresh crusade. "The GAA does not exist to see fellows being out of pocket, but we are not here to pay fellows either," he declared while attending the All Stars hurling tour to Buenos Aires. "It's now a question of finding a solution; we can't be hypocritical. Managers can't be getting this money when we don't pay players."

A noble principle, no doubt, but there are so many practical obstacles that make the issue incredibly difficult to police. Here are just a few:

lIt's fair to surmise that most outside managers don't take on such onerous roles purely for the good of a county or, more especially, a club to which they have no emotional attachment. Some may be driven by a love of the game and/or personal ambition; for many others, though, there is an obvious financial sweetener.

lIf outside managers really are the problem, you may reason, couldn't the GAA simply make it illegal for clubs to go beyond their own membership or boards to look outside their own county boundaries? That may seem a blindingly straightforward solution but, of course, it won't happen. Outside managers are part of the furniture. And besides, would it be fair to deny 'weaker' counties of the experience/ expertise/bounce factor that often comes with the appointment of a high-profile manager with a glittering CV?

lThere's a perception afoot that inter-county managers being paid above the odds aren't receiving this extra loot directly from the county board but by unidentified and unaccountable 'backers'. Said boards can then offer the Jesuitical excuse that they are doing nothing wrong, only paying the going rate of expenses (which, to be fair, can mount up very quickly if there are long travelling distances involved). So then, how can Croke Park hope to tackle the issue of 'outside' agents paying the outsider? In reality, the biting effects of the recession -- curtailing the available largesse of potential backers -- could prove a more likely impediment to any such under-the-counter payments.

lIn these straitened times for our national coffers, how long will it be before a high-profile manager finds himself in trouble with the Revenue?

As matters stand, the whole process is so murky and laced with hypocrisy that it begs a far bigger question: should the GAA simply accept that inter-county (but not club) managers be reimbursed in a transparent way for putting in a body of highly pressurised work often stretching to 35-40 hours a week?

Why not give them full-time contracts? Standardise these contractual arrangements so that every inter-county boss must have the most advanced coaching qualifications available from Croke Park. Expand their brief to cover more than just the county's senior flagship team.

All of this might even partially address the mounting problem of disaffected inter-county panels refusing to play for managers who have seemingly lost touch with the dressing-room.

The word from HQ is that Croke Park is embarking on a more proactive examination of how county boards conduct their financial affairs, trying to ensure best practice. This includes the thorny issue of managerial payments, and county chairmen and secretaries have already been told as much by the president.

And, in fairness to Cooney -- who has already defied the sceptics by not just talking the talk but getting things done -- his weekend words may well be followed up by meaningful action. Forgive us, though, for not holding our breath just yet.

- Frank Roche