In December 2022, two reports were published by the Low Pay Commission on this matter: the Low Pay Commission’s report on piloting a Universal Basic Income, and an accompanying research report, authored by ESRI under the terms of the Low Pay Commission / ESRI Research Partnership Agreement.
In the Low Pay Commission’s report on piloting a Universal Basic Income, five general principles were recommended by the Low Pay Commission for the design of any UBI pilot for Ireland and ten guidelines were provided which may help in the design of a UBI pilot for Ireland. The report noted these guidelines should be contingent on the policy preferences of Government, included the establishment of an interdepartmental working group and obtaining legal advice on the establishment of a universal basic income scheme. The Low Pay Commission’s report further noted that “the recommendations and guidelines in this report regarding how UBI might be piloted in Ireland should not be seen as an implicit endorsement of the concept of a UBI by the Low Pay Commission. The Low Pay Commission was not asked to evaluate the concept of a UBI. Nor was it asked to evaluate whether or not UBI should be piloted”.
As stated in reply to previous Parliamentary Questions, given the recent implementation of Basic Income for the Arts scheme, the views of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare on the development of Universal Basic Income in Ireland, and after receiving the Low Pay Commission’s two reports, there are no plans to introduce or further trial Universal Basic Income at this time.
While I am familiar with the report produced by the Select Committee on Budgetary Oversight’s Examination of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare Report, I do not propose asking the Low Pay Commission to undertake any further work on Universal Basic Income in Ireland.
