New scheme to pay 2,000 artists a basic income for three years

The pilot scheme is aimed at artists across the arts, culture, audiovisual, live performance, and event sectors. It won't be means-tested and recipients will be entitled to earn additional income. Picture: iStock

A pilot scheme that would provide a basic income for those working in the arts sector has attracted a “significant level of interest”, the Department of Arts and Tourism has said.

Up to 2,000 artists will be able to avail of the pioneering basic income for the arts pilot scheme, which is set to launch early this year.

Artists chosen for the pilot will be given a basic income for three years, to allow them to focus on their practice, to minimise the loss of skills from the arts as a result of the pandemic, and to contribute to the sector's gradual regrowth post-pandemic.

The Arts and Culture Recovery Task Force has recommended the income be set at the national minimum wage (currently €10.50 per hour), and cover an average working week (currently 33.1 hours per week according to the CSO). This would mean a weekly income of about €347 per week for those in the pilot.

Following the closure of a public consultation on the scheme last month, a spokesperson for the department said work on the pilot scheme is “progressing well”, and a report on the public consultation will be published shortly. They said: 

The department has received a significant number of submissions to the public consultation, reflecting the significant level of interest in this new policy intervention.

The application portal for the scheme is currently under development, and will be finalised to take account of the findings of the report and consultations.

While the exact eligibility criteria for recipients is still being finalised, the basic income will be available to eligible artists and creative arts workers.

The department confirmed that participation in the scheme will not be based on a means test, and that recipients of the basic income will be entitled to earn additional income.

Selection for the scheme will be non-competitive. Once a person satisfies the eligibility criteria they will be included in a randomised selection process.

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A number of unsuccessful applicants will also be invited to participate in a control group, to allow for a comprehensive examination of the effectiveness of the pilot scheme.

A recent Unesco report, Re-Shaping Policies for Creativity, examined the impact of the pandemic on creative and cultural sectors, and heralded Ireland’s basic income pilot as a “pioneering” scheme to aid recovery of the arts sector.

That report revealed that 10m jobs were lost in cultural and creative sectors across the world during the pandemic, and they sustained “more damage than during any previous crisis”.