Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 March 2022
511. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update regarding the professional artists on jobseeker’s allowance; if consideration has been given to extending eligibility for the scheme to artists who are not in a union (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11319/22]
View answerThe Professional Artist scheme under jobseekers allowance is an initiative of the all-of-Government Creative Ireland Programme, introduced while I had ministerial responsibility for the Arts. The scheme was initially introduced as a pilot scheme and was available to professional writers and visual artists.
In September 2019 the Professional Artist Scheme was introduced as a permanent scheme in its own right, and has been extended to other professional art forms following a review carried out in consultation with the then Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. A key feature of the initiative is that it acknowledges the status of self-employed artists and writers and gives them a 12 month window to focus on building up their work before they become subject to labour market activation. Therefore, they are exempted from labour market activation, which is mandatory for most recipients of a jobseekers payment, for a period of twelve months.
The independent and objective validation process of professional certification was developed as part of the review process in consultation with the then Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Arts Council and representative bodies.
There are approximately 85 artists currently availing of the Professional Artist Scheme. My Department will continue to work with the Department for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and relevant bodies in relation to the development of this scheme, including any proposal to extend the professional certification process.
Finally, the Deputy will also be aware that Budget 2022 included the announcement of €25 million to pilot a new Basic Income Guarantee scheme for artists and arts workers as recommended by the Arts and Culture Taskforce and Recovery Oversight Group. My colleague the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media has lead responsibility for this initiative which will be available to qualifying artists and creative arts workers to support their practices.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
