Sporting bodies including the GAA and IRFU face a cut in funding unless they commit to having at least 30 percent of their boards made up of women.

The measure's being proposed by Junior Sports Minister Patrick O'Donovan - who says it's important to remove the glass ceiling in sports administration.

The GAA says it welcomes efforts to increase the participation of women and girls in sport - but says it will need to examine the proposal to assess its impact.

Juliette Gash reports;
The GAA issued a statement to Today FM News this afternoon; 

"As a family based organisation the GAA welcomes efforts to increase the participation of women and girls across the sporting spectrum.

A growing number of ladies have taken on officer roles in recent years, a trend we hope to see continue.

However, democracy lies at the heart of the process that facilitates the appointment of the vast majority of our officials and in light of this morning’s announcement a wider discussion is now required to assess its potential impact.

The GAA was not involved in drawing up the gender quota plan and will now take the opportunity to study it in detail with the relevant internal forums before commenting further."