I was delighted that as part of the Economic Recovery Plan, I secured a commitment from Government to prioritise the development of a Basic Income pilot scheme for the arts and cultural sector. Funding for the Basic Income for the Arts Pilot Scheme was a key priority of mine for Budget 2022 and I secured €25m to realise the pilot scheme next year.
As Minister with responsibility for Arts and Culture, I am conscious of the value that this sector brings to all Irish citizens. The importance of Irish culture, Irish art and Irish productions as a whole cannot be understated - it contributes to individual and societal well-being, as well as contributing to Ireland's reputation as a country with a rich cultural history and output.
In relation to the timeline for the launch of the pilot the Deputy will appreciate that this is a major policy intervention requiring significant resources to develop a coherent policy and to operationalise. This work is ongoing and my ambition is to open the scheme for applications in Q1 2022.
An online consultation portal is currently open and will remain open until 27th January 2022.
Stakeholder engagement has been central to my Department's response to the pandemic and this consultation will ensure that the arts sector, those working in it and the resource bodies and representative organisations are given the opportunity to feed into the policy development for the scheme.
The online consultation is based on a Discussion Paper considered at the Stakeholder Forum held on 15th December 2021. It is open to all and gives those who were not in attendance, other members of the arts community and the public a chance to contribute their thoughts to the ongoing development of the pilot scheme for a Basic Income for the Arts.
The purpose of the online consultation is to ensure that the general public, artists and those working in the arts and culture sector have the opportunity to contribute to the policy development for the pilot scheme and to offer suggestions from their experiences as artists, arts workers and members of resource organisations on key issues such as the schemes objectives, eligibility criteria, supporting emerging artists and participant responsibilities.
The selection process, application details and rate of payment for recipients of the Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme will be finalised following the stakeholder engagement and online consultation, however, I can confirm the following:
- participation in the scheme will not be based on a means test.
- it will be a non-competitive process, therefore once a person satisfies the eligibility criteria they will be included in a randomised selection process.
Proposals for the parameters of the scheme will be finalised in light of the stakeholder engagement.
I believe the Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme will bring new life and support to the Arts and Cultural Sector and I hope it will provide an important legacy for our artists and creatives. In addition to this measure, I also secured continued investment of €130m for the Arts Council in 2022. Combined, these measures will significantly contribute to the development of the arts in Ireland.
