Ciarán Purcell explores the Basic Income for the Arts scheme and what it means for the artists of Ireland.
The Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme, also known as BIA, is a government implemented scheme that aims to support artists financially in the pursuit of their creative endeavours. It was a scheme that started out as a recommendation by the Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce in order to help the arts sector bounce back after the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme is intended to encourage artists throughout the country to spend more time working on their art. Initial applications for the scheme opened on the 12th of April 2022. The 2,000 artists that were successful in their applications received a weekly payment of €325.
While the scheme is primarily aimed at individual artists, it also works in tandem with various institutions around Dublin and the rest of the country that help to support the various sectors of the arts both directly and indirectly. One of the most prominent organisations involved with the scheme is The Arts Council.
The Arts Council received an additional 4.5% increase in funding in the most recent government budget, which called for the continuation of this scheme. This financial increase then resulted in a total budget of €140 million for 2025. The increase has made it possible for the council to successfully fund an additional 24 artists and institutions. The additional funding resulted in a total of 218 recipients of the Artists Grant scheme, raking up a combined amount of €17.1 million.
The income that is received is taxable and treated as self-employment income. Recipients must register with Revenue (Schedule D), and are subject to income tax, USC, and Class S PRSI. The impact of this pilot scheme is undoubtedly positive, as it has benefitted creatives in a variety of ways. Recipients have reported that it has reduced financial stress, improved mental wellbeing, and a greater sense of career confidence and autonomy.
Those who are in receipt of the funding report that on average, they managed to spend roughly an extra 3.5 hours per week making art, more than 2 weekly hours on research and experimentation, along with being able to dedicate further time to training, administrative tasks, and management. Alongside this, they were on average able to invest around €550 more monthly into things such as materials, travel, and marketing. The payments enabled some artists to take on larger, more ambitious projects, network more, upskill, and even save and invest in their future.
All of this also begs the question as to how other countries are doing in comparison to Ireland. A study conducted by the German Institute of Economic Research surrounding a universal basic income funding scheme in 2021 focused on an overall scheme rather than one focused solely on the arts, yet it had similar findings to that in Ireland.
The study centered around a group of 122 applicants in the basic income group who received a universal basic income of €1,200 every month for three years. Payments began in June 2021, with the final payment being made in May 2024. The overall number of participants from both the basic income and the control group totalled around 1,700 people, each of whom completed an online survey at regular intervals. A final survey was then conducted at the end of the payment period in November of 2024 preceding the publication of the results in April 2025.
The result of this study found that not only did people in the basic income group continue working a full time 40 hour work week but lead to greater job satisfaction as a whole. Other positive outcomes included, participants finding they had more time to pursue things such as further education alongside their previous commitments.
While the scheme is undoubtedly leading the arts sector in a positive direction, questions as to what comes next also emerge. So what does the future hold for Ireland?
In terms of the Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme, the government has provided an extension until February of 2026, which gives more time for evaluation and stakeholder consultation before designing a future scheme to replace it. This has been confirmed by Minister Patrick O’Donovan who has stated that the data gathered will be used to propose a future plan and that he “looks forward to suggestions” that may possibly expand or redesign the scheme in Budget 2026.