Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I know the Deputy has a long-term interest in this area. She has been extremely supportive of the scheme. The basic income for the arts pilot research scheme was the number one recommendation by the arts and culture recovery task force during the Covid-19 pandemic. The task force unanimously agreed that a basic income for artists was the best way to help the to sector recover after the pandemic and prevent a loss of talent to other sectors.

Two impact papers have already been published by the Department, with another due in the coming months. The latest data relating to the basic income for the arts is available on gov.ie. It is a priority for the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, to ensure that the research is completed in order to assess and maximise the impact of the basic income for the arts in line with the programme for Government commitment.

While the research pilot is due to end in August, the basic income for the arts is fully funded to the end of the year. The Department is currently reviewing the data available to date and, as part of this review of the research, will shortly consider proposals regarding the next steps. The data from basic income for the arts pilot research scheme will feed into the Government's consideration of those next steps. The research will form the evidence base upon which the Government can base future policy proposals in this area. The Minister will shortly publish a qualitative research paper based on interviews on the basic income for the arts which provides the lived experience of some of those in receipt of the basic income for the arts. The Department is also undertaking a cost-benefit analysis to obtain a more complete assessment of the impacts of the scheme.

As the Deputy will be aware, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to assess the basic income for artists pilot research scheme to maximise its impact. While the research phase of the pilot scheme is ongoing, it is clear from evidence collected to date that the payment is having a positive impact on participants. The research data collected so far shows that the basic income for the arts payment is having a consistent positive impact across all indicators, positively affecting practice development, sectoral retention, well-being and deprivation. Artists in receipt of the support are typically able to devote more time to their art, experience a boost to their well-being through greater life satisfaction and reduced anxiety and are protected from the precariousness of incomes in the sector to a greater degree than those not receiving the support.

The scheme is underpinned by a gold standard research methodology know as a randomised control trial. This consists of two groups of randomly selected people. One is receiving the basic income payment, the treatment group, while the other, the control group, is not. Analysis of the results involves a comparison of averages between the two groups. As the groups have similar characteristics at baseline and are large, any difference arising during the trial can be assumed to have been caused by the policy. For example, the data shows that those in receipt of the payment completed, on average, almost four new pieces of work more in the past six months than their counterparts in the control group and are 14% more likely to have completed new work.

Some 2,000 artists have benefited from the payment of €325 a week since August 2022. There were more than 8,200 eligible applicants for the scheme. The 2,000 recipients were chosen through an anonymised random selection process. In addition, almost 1,000 artists agreed to participate in a control group. These participants are providing the same data as those in receipt of the basic income for the arts but do not receive the weekly payment.

The participation of those in the control group has been critical in assessing the impact of the basic income for the arts and gathering the data for the research outlined.

As of now, no decision has been taken on the future of the scheme while the data is still being collated and analysed. However, I assure Deputy Sherlock that the issue is foremost in the Minister's mind. As he stated in the Dáil last week, he fully appreciates the importance of the basic income support for artists and is acutely aware that the pilot is due to conclude in August. It is the Minister's intention to make an announcement on the next steps in the coming weeks. The Minister knows there is a broad base of support for the scheme and for the arts research project in the House.

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