Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
564. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if the basic income for the arts scheme has been fully subscribed for the 2,000 places allocated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40708/22]
View answerDemand for the basic income for the arts pilot research scheme has been very strong with just over 9,000 applications received by the closing date of 12 May.
I am very encouraged by the level of interest from artists and creative arts workers in participating in the pilot scheme. Once assessed for eligibility, all eligible applicants will be entered into an anonymised random process to choose the 2,000 scheme participants.
There has been a very high volume of applications for the pilot scheme, which is a three year research programme to evaluate the impact of a basic income style payment on the arts sector. The pilot will also have a control group of up to 1,000 eligible applicants to provide for comparative analysis between the treatment and control group.
This heralds a new approach to the way the State funds and recognises artists and I look forward to seeing the data and findings of the research collected during the pilot.
