However, due to the contraction of the Irish economy, current minister Martin Cullen revealed earlier this month that a package of only €1.05m is now on the table.

In a bid to maintain the level of funding which has existed to date, GPA Chief Executive Dessie Farrell says that a survey will be carried out to ensure comprehensive data exists in relation to the economic benefit of staging inter-county GAA games.

"We've been saying it for a long time that significant funding has been generated for the exchequer (by the staging of GAA games)," he said.

"It's been part of our argument to have funding of grants for inter-county players introduced in the first instance.

"Obviously now that this funding has come under threat, we believe that's very unfair, with a 70% reduction. On the basis that the scheme is to move into this elite system, we believe that it is unworkable for ourselves."

The only previous study in relation to the benefits of staging a GAA fixture to the economy was in 2003, when the Dublin Chamber of Commerce revealed that the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final between Armagh and Tyrone at Croke Park that year helped boost the local economy to the tune of €20m.

The report was carried out based on the findings of Lansdowne Market Research, who applied their work to an economic model prepared by Jim Fitzpatrick of Fitzpatrick and Associates.

Farrell added: "That was only for one game and if you look at what happens in Thurles, Cork, Clones, Killarney or Tuam for example, the micro economies of all of those regions obviously have benefited as well from inter-county games."

The model had been previously used to carry out an analysis of the benefits of an Elton John concert at the RDS and the Ireland v Scotland Six Nations rugby game at Lansdowne Road.

Preliminary research into seeking out potential research companies and the costs of such a study have already been carried out by the GPA.

However, Farrell concedes that unless the GAA come on board, the research would be financially crippling for the independent players' body.

"We have discussed this internally within the GPA and made preliminary discussions. We've looked at the cost of it also," he explained.

"We found that to do an extensive piece of research on it ourselves, the cost is quite prohibitive. At that stage we approached the GAA to see if they would be interested in this type of research.

"While the process hasn't necessarily gone out to tender, the GAA have gone about it themselves now to see where it is at and who might be appropriate to do such research."

Should the GPA progress with their survey it is likely to take between a month and five months to conduct.

The survey costs for the association are expected to run into tens of thousands of euro, with a sample size of between 200-300 people required.