A pilot scheme that paid €325 per week to 2,000 randomly selected artists for three years has been made permanent by the Irish government, but access will remain restricted. The new scheme, opening this May, will offer support to a limited number of artists on three-year cycles, with mandatory three-year gaps between participation.
Government research found that for every euro spent on the pilot, society received €1.39 in return, generating over €100 million in social and economic benefits. Despite this, the scheme will not be expanded to all artists, and critics argue it reinforces precarity rather than solving it.
The National Campaign for the Arts has called for dramatic expansion, while Praxis, the artists’ union of Ireland, warned that elements of the permanent scheme risk reproducing precarity. Disabled artists, for example, may see their welfare payments reduced if they accept the basic income due to means-testing.
Ireland’s spending on culture remains low at 0.2% of GDP, compared with an EU average of 0.5%. The basic income for 2,000 artists adds approximately €35 million per year, a sum offset by the economic gains identified in the pilot.
