DUP queries GAA billing Stormont for hundreds of thousands - as ministry turns down almost half of invoices
Stormont’s sports ministry rejected hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of invoices submitted by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in a six month period, raising “serious concerns” over the sporting body’s funding, a DUP MLA has said.
The Department for Communities (DfC) turned down almost half of the bills submitted by the Gaelic games governing body – including requests for payment for its public relations costs.
North Belfast MLA Phillip Brett obtained the figures from DfC minister Gordon Lyons. They show that between October 2024 and March 2025, the GAA requested that the public foot the bill for £707,705 in expenditure – but £329,732 was rejected by Stormont officials.
A bill of £18,130 for PR was deemed ineligible, with DfC saying it “reserves the right, at its absolute discretion, to determine what constitutes eligible expenditure under the terms of its funding agreement”.
Last year, amid the row between Ulster GAA and DfC over the redevelopment of Casement Park, UTV reported that the sporting organisation had presented Stormont with its PR bill – reportedly “several thousand pounds”.
Phillip Brett says the figures raise “serious concerns” about the GAA’s actions and that public money must be protected.
The DUP MLA told the News Letter: “The figures released by the Minister are deeply concerning and raise significant questions about how public money is being claimed and scrutinised. Of the £707,705 in invoices submitted, more than £329,000 was deemed ineligible, that is an extraordinary proportion.
“It is particularly troubling that £18,130 was submitted for public relations activity, which the Department has confirmed was not eligible for funding. Taxpayers will rightly question why such costs were included in the first place. I am glad there was robust oversight and accountability as public confidence depends on it.
“Lessons should be learned by the GAA. Taxpayers’ money must be properly protected going forward.”
In June 2025, UTV News reported that documents released to it under a Freedom of Information request included invoices from a PR company for more than 200 hours of work carried out for Ulster GAA between October 2024 and February 2025 - a period during which the relationship between Communities Minister Gordon Lyons and GAA President Jarlath Burns was strained over the Casement Park issue.
Ulster GAA told the broadcaster that under its existing funding agreement with DfC “these are development costs”. “This is common practice across NI Executive led infrastructural projects that require a wide range of services to ensure their successful delivery”, a spokesperson had said.
UTV reported that the documents it had obtained showed that Ulster GAA submitted invoices to the DfC in relation to redeveloping the Casement Park site in west Belfast.
When officials asked Ulster GAA to justify the inclusion of the invoices for payment, Ulster GAA wrote: “Unfortunately, during 2024 the ability of UCGAA and DfC to align communication protocols on the project as per previous years has not been possible”.
The Ulster Council of the GAA has been approached for comment on the figures, released by DfC after an Assembly question by Mr Brett.