Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 February 2024
25. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the proposals, if any, she has to extend the basic income artists’ scheme to more artists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6908/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) pilot is a key priority for me as Minister with responsibility for arts and culture.
Recipients are being paid €325 a week for three years. In addition, control group members are being paid €650 per year to engage in the data collection. The scheme will cost €35m per year (€105m in total).
The scheme is a pilot research scheme and is operating within a limited budget, and therefore it is not my intention to increase the number of recipients within the pilot.
The research will examine, over a three-year period, the impact of a basic income style payment on artists and creative arts workers. The scheme recognises that there is a vast body of often unpaid or underpaid time that goes into the making of the creative work that we as a society enjoy. The ambition of the scheme is that, by providing the security of a basic income, artists and creative arts workers can focus on artistic work and be in a position to increase their earnings from their creative practice as a self-employed artist/creative.
In December, I released the first reports on the initial research findings of the Basic Income pilot. Although the initial findings on the impact of the payment are positive, the reports also highlight the reality for artists and creative arts workers in Ireland at the moment. They are evidence of the challenges our artists face on a daily basis and the sacrifices they make to progress their artistic work.
I believe that the Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme is a once in a generation, transformational measure in the funding of the arts in Ireland. It makes a strong statement at home and abroad about the value that Ireland as a nation places on artistic practice both for its intrinsic value and in terms of our personal and collective well-being, and also in terms of its importance to our identity and cultural distinctiveness on the global stage.
The research involved will inform future Government policy in the arts and has the potential to change the landscape of the arts in Ireland and how we fund it.
