Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 May 2023
59. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to report on the progress of the universal basic income for artists pilot scheme; if she intends to expand it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23582/23]
View answerThe Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) pilot was a key priority for me. I see this scheme as an important intervention to support the arts sector recover after the devastation wreaked by the Covid pandemic. Covid highlighted both the precarious nature of working in the arts and the importance of the arts for us all.
The pilot was also the number one recommendation of the Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce which I established in 2020 to examine ways in which to help the arts recover post pandemic. I was very pleased to have been able to deliver on this recommendation.
Payments on the scheme began at the end of October 2022.
The 2,000 recipients were selected to receive payment of €325 per week. A further 1,000 Control Group members were also selected to participate in the research. As analysis of the results of participant surveys will involve a comparison of averages between the two groups, it is intended that participants selected in 2022 remain on the scheme for the full three years. It is not intended to invite new applications.
The pilot scheme includes a research programme which will examine, over a three-year period, the impact of a basic income style payment on artists and creative arts workers. As such, evaluation will be continuous, including a longitudinal study which will see participants surveyed every six months. The data gathered as part of the research will provide an evidence base around the impact of the policy.
The scheme is a randomised control trial which consists of two groups of randomly selected people. One will receive the basic income – the treatment group, while the other, – the control group, will not. Analysis of the results will involve a comparison of averages between the two groups. As the groups have the same characteristics at baseline and are large enough to be a statistically representative sample, any difference arising during the trial can be assumed to have been caused by the policy.
The main research will be a longitudinal study with six monthly surveys. Survey data will be compared against a baseline survey which took place before payments began. As the information collection has only begun, the Department does not yet have data on the Pilot Research Scheme to share. Data collected will be made available to independent researchers should they want to do their own research on related topics of interest.
The research project is being undertaken by a group of economists and policy analysts who are all members of IGEES (the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service). In addition, the ESRI and IGESS will provide peer review support around methodology and research papers being produced as part of the project.
