Hill 16 tickets for the two deciders will also increase by €5 to €45 while it will cost extra to attend this year's qualifier games and Allianz League matches.

A statement confirming the news on Saturday pointed out that the GAA has 'made a firm commitment to distribute all additional revenue back out into the Association at club and county level'.

Horan, speaking at today's launch of the Allianz Hurling League, defended the increases but admitted there is an element of risk attached in a time of general concern regarding attendance figures.

There is but anyone running a business and having a product and you go for a price increase, you'll always have to take it on board that there's the law of diminishing returns, that if you up the price, you may diminish your sales," said Horan.

"At Congress last year, if you remember, I did say that we would do more for the clubs. I'd like to follow through on that and we've increased the club funding and development areas this year by 500 (thousand euro), it's going up by another 500 next year so in the space of two years it'll have gone up by 50 per cent, or €1 million, and I think it's key at this time when the economy has lifted and clubs probably will take on development projects that we're there to be seen to support them."

A ticket for an Allianz League game in the coming weeks that is bought on the day of the game will cost €20, an increase of €5 on the 2018 price.

"It's rounding it off," said Horan. "If you're going from €15, where are you going to go? Are you going to go to €18 and cause chaos? Are we going to have €2 (change being given) at the gate and all that sort of a headache? So when you make these changes you have to make them in fives. It's just the nature of the beast. Eight years has been a good while since we last did it."