The details of the long-awaited Basic Income For The Arts Permanent Scheme were announced yesterday.
With a chance to look over it properly, it’s clear that the new scheme, replacing the pilot scheme is lacking in ambition that doesn’t match its original intention or name.
How we got here:
In 2022, the first round of Irish artists were awarded in the Basic Income for the Arts scheme for three years.
Over 9000 people applied for the first round. 2000 eligible artists received €325 per week until this month in the Pilot Scheme. The money covers artists’ basic financial requirements so they are free to create work.
A cost-benefit analysis found that for every €1 invested in the pilot, society received €1.39 in return.
The demand is clearly there and the pilot proves it works, and the economic numbers stack up but…
The devil is in the details.
The new Basic Income for the Arts scheme is limited to 2000 people only, the same number as the internationally-lauded Pilot scheme.
It has not been expanded, just kept, but with extra impermanence baked in.
The new Basic Income for the Arts scheme will operate in three-year cycles with previously-selected artists being eligible for every three out of six years.
This means that, if selected in 2026 – 2029 for the payment, an artist won’t be eligible again until 2032.
A three year gap…
The 2000 people who were on the Pilot scheme are able to reapply for the 2026 fund but they are now faced with a likely income gap of 9 or 10 months without the scheme help – and with the massive numbers likely to apply far exceeding 2000 places, many existing pilot scheme selected artists won’t receive the next round, leaving them back at square one.
Universal Basic Income (UBI) is supposed to be regular, reliable, social-welfare-style minimum income for all.
When it’s applied to artists, Ireland’s scheme has become a culturally global aspiration for others. That’s why Ireland’s Basic Income scheme has grabbed so many international headlines. Alas, as it stands, it currently falls very short.
The Permanent Basic Income For The Arts scheme needs to add artists to it not kick them off every three years.
The Basic Income For Artists Scheme is really a limited artist grant not a UBI scheme.
Artists are no doubt super grateful if they receive it and we celebrate that the scheme exists at all, while acknowledging the advocacy of organisations like National Campaign for the Arts (NCFA).
It’s worth also stating that this new version of the permanent Basic Income scheme, falls short and isn’t permanent for artists at all.
In the case of the newly announced Basic Income For Arts in Ireland, it is currently going to operate as a limited artist grant in its current form not Basic Income in how that idea is widely understood.
But there is hope for the future of the scheme.
In statements accompanying the news, The NCFA’s Peter Power said “we look forward to its implementation and expansion to include all eligible artists and arts workers in the coming years.”
Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD also indicated the scheme was “a start” and indicated expansion and growth was a priority for the lifetime of the Government, while acknowledging the current lack of increase.
“The reason that it’s been started at 2,000 is because that’s the budget envelope that we got from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for a full calendar year,” Minister O’Donovan said at the launch.
“But I hope to be able to grow that over the next couple of years, and that will obviously involve negotiations between myself and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and our department officials.”
“But it is an aspiration of mine over the lifetime of the Government, over the next four to five years, to try and increase that number, because I can see very clearly from the metrics just how important it is.”
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
