IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tim O’Connor, The Bar of Ireland
7.2 Employer/Employee Rights The general elements of Irish employment law (and, as one of the major sources of this, EU employment law) will apply to sports govern - ing bodies. Very recent decisions of the Irish Supreme Court as to who is an employee, relat - ing to gig employment of those in the fast-food delivery industry, are still washing through the system, but it would seem a reasonable baseline assumption that the number of those covered by employment law as employees will increase rather than shrink. In the narrower context, the Irish sports market is perhaps unusual in that it is dominated above all by the Gaelic field sports, hurling and Gaelic football, where players are not permitted to be paid. The professional sports field is therefore largely left to three sports: rugby, dominated in an unusual arrangement by the national govern - ing body discussed below; football, where the professional league is small and with conse - quently limited earning power for players, mean - ing that it has historically operated as a feeder system to the English game; and, to some extent outside of the normal loop, horse racing with its unique arrangements dealing with enormous amounts of money. The result of this is that employer/employee disputes are less frequent than might reason - ably be expected. However, analogous disputes between player associations and governing bodies are not infrequent, especially in the GAA, where increased demands on players as they move to semi-professional demands means that the allocation of income in terms of supports and
have full Treaty rights. Nationals of other states may require specific work permits on their immi - gration permissions (often colloquially referred to in Irish immigration law as “Stamp 4” ). Irish immigration law can be complex, and can further be complicated by the fact that, although Ireland is in the EU, it is not in the Schengen System, adding a further layer of complication for those who may need visas to enter and work in the EU if they must then enter Schengen states while working as professional sports persons. There is free movement on the island of Ireland, and there is a Free Travel Area for UK and Irish citizens moving between Britain and Ireland. However, those athletes travelling may need to check visa restrictions if travelling to Britain rather than Northern Ireland. As noted above, CJEU case law on the UEFA homegrown players rule, and similar restrictions are relevant to the free movement of athletes, and the full effects of this remain to be seen. Women’s sport is undoubtedly the key devel - opment market in Irish sport. Women’s Gaelic games, especially Gaelic football, has become a very visible feature of the sporting landscape, but other teams, such as the Irish Women’s foot - ball team, have equally become much more vis - ible, arguably in the latter case doing better than the men’s team with the visibility that follows. However, resources are a key limiting factor. For example, the previously successful Irish wom - en’s rugby team lost out in the sudden surge towards full professionalism in the international women’s game, with controversy over lack of 8. Women’s Sport 8.1 Women’s Sport Overview
resources has become more fraught. 7.3 Free Movement of Athletes
UK nationals have full rights of residence. EU nationals (and those covered by Kolpak) would
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