Musicians busking in Galway. Jon Chica/ShutterstockThe Irish government has announced that a pilot scheme providing artists and creatives with a weekly stipend of €325 (£283) will be made permanent. The scheme, which was first introduced in 2022, was launched in an attempt to mitigate the growing financial instability many in the creative industries face.
The basic income for the arts (BIA) initial pilot ran from 2022 to 2025 and helped 2,000 artists. The results of an independent study found that it had a noticeable positive impact on the lives of those who received it.
There have been many basic income schemes around the world in the 21st century, but virtually all of them have been discontinued upon the ending of their pilot phase. So as all societies face the possible threats to jobs and livelihoods by AI, many policymakers and researchers will be watching the progress of the Irish government’s permanent basic income scheme.
One scheme that survived past the pilot stage is the Alaska permanent fund, which has paid an annual dividend to every Alaskan resident since 1982. But unlike the Irish scheme, the payments fluctuate annually and usually don’t reach the level of income which is needed to support a person’s basic needs – known as a subsistence payment.
So many basic income schemes have failed because right across the political spectrum, people are usually uneasy about how they might undermine the value of working for a living. The perceived cost of basic income schemes is also a barrier to their extension. Support for a basic income in Finland, which ran a pilot in 2017 to 2018, significantly dropped when respondents were informed of the increases in taxation needed to fund it.
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This article is part of our State of the Arts series. These articles tackle the challenges of the arts and heritage industry – and celebrate the wins, too.
The reason why Ireland has bucked this trend is that it has secured strong support from the general public rather than solely those who are most likely to benefit from it. BIA’s genesis during the COVID-19 lockdowns, whereby the importance of arts and culture was amplified and furlough programmes supported people who could not work, was crucial in solidifying public support.
The report also found that it was successful in helping its recipients. One of the biggest benefits was on the recipients’ mental health, with many stating they were less stressed about their finances and noticed a marked improvement in their general wellbeing. These findings replicate what other basic income schemes have found.
The study also found they were more productive as a result, spending up to four more hours a week on their artistic work, which in turn increased their output levels and financial sustainability.
Crucially, the report found that for every €1 of public money invested in the pilot, society received €1.39 in return.
The demonstrable benefits found by the report boosted political support for the BIA scheme and every party competing in the 2024 Irish election were committed to its extension. However, it hasn’t been without its critics.
Of the 8,200 applicants in 2022 to the ballot for the BIA, only 2,000 were chosen. Despite the government’s pledge to try to expand the number of recipients to 2,200, the basic income will still only benefit a minority of applicants to the scheme.
This has caused some disquiet in the arts and culture sector, with those whose applications were successful reluctant to reveal their good fortune for fear of upsetting the more than 6,000 applicants who were not. Others object at the privileging of artists over other workers in as much need.
The decision to make BIA permanent will put pressure on policymakers to extend it to other sectors. However, a 2019 estimation of a basic income for every Irish resident over the age of 18 was costed at €41 billion (£36 billion) per year, making it politically unfeasible for now.
The current scheme costs a mere €25 million. This low cost does though provide some scope for the BIA’s expansion, which might occur in the event of an existential threat to jobs and livelihoods.
As AI makes work across industries more precarious and the threat of other global disasters loom, economists, politicians and researchers like me will be eagerly watching.
Andrew White does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.