Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that the Deputy has often raised with me the issue of giving artists social protection supports when they are out of work. I was delighted that the Government was able to launch the pilot initiative this year. It will allow self-employed artists who apply to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection for jobseeker's allowance to avail of social welfare assistance when they need it. This was welcomed. It does not apply to everyone at the minute, as it is a pilot scheme for visual artists and writers. The initiative's design involved significant work by my Department, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the Arts Council, which worked closely with us, as well as consultation with artists' representative organisations, specifically Visual Artists Ireland and the Irish Writers Centre. I was glad to be able to roll out this pilot initiative. We will review its outcomes at a later stage and, hopefully, improve on it.

I acknowledge that studio space is difficult to locate in the city. We are examining that matter.

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