Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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6. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will increase the payment under the basic income for the arts scheme in budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52583/25]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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20. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of persons in receipt of the basic income for the arts payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51546/25]

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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23. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when a decision is expected on plans to extend the basic income for artists scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52174/25]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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26. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment for an update on the development of a permanent successor scheme to the basic income for the arts pilot; his plans to publish the cost benefit analysis paper; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52574/25]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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32. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will make the basic income for the arts scheme permanent in budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52584/25]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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My question goes back to the previous grouping in relation to the basic income for the arts, BIA, scheme. What the Minister said earlier was unambiguously positive in terms of the evidence of the cost benefit analysis of the scheme. Will the scheme be made permanent? Will it be expanded to four or five times its current size so that all eligible applicants can benefit from it?

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I propose to takes Questions No. 6, 20, 23, 26 and 32 together.

The basic income for the arts is a pilot research programme which will inform future Government policy on how best to support Ireland’s artists and creative arts workers. The primary objective of the scheme was to help artists deal with precarious incomes and prevent talent from leaving the sector for economic reasons. It is well established that artists suffer from precarious incomes and the benefits of the arts enjoyed by society are often as a result of unpaid and underpaid labour of artists. This is a chronic ongoing problem.

The programme for Government commits to assessing the basic income for the arts pilot research scheme to maximise its impact, which is why I announce an extension of six months to February 2026 to allow further assessment of the pilot data and to engage in stakeholder consultation to provide a clear evidence base for the Government to make decisions on the next steps.

The BIA recognises of the arts and the role of the creative practice in Irish society. The arts positively impact social cohesion, societal well-being, Ireland’s global reputation and creativity. The BIA has particularly good regional distribution across the country with every county benefiting from the investment and some counties like Leitrim, Clare and Sligo have more artists than would be expected based on their populations bringing much-needed economic investment to those areas as well.

BIA support is hugely valued by those artists in receipt of it. It has been the subject of much positive commentary at home and in an international context and makes an important statement about the value placed on the arts in Ireland.

I fully appreciate the importance of the BIA and have been clear that I think it should be continued. There has been consistent correspondence to my Department in support of a successor scheme. Much of this support has come through the constituency offices of all colleagues both in government and in opposition. It is therefore clear that there is broad support for a continuation of the BIA. My Department conducted a public consultation which closed on 5 September and over 17,000 submissions were received. Of these, 97% were in favour of the BIA being continued.

Consultation is ongoing, including a consultative committee which draws from across Government Departments. I also held a sectoral stakeholder forum on 10 September with around 200 artists, all of whom were in favour of retaining the scheme.

The BIA has been implemented as a randomised control trial which consists of two groups of randomly selected people, all of who complete a lengthy survey every six months as a condition of a participant being on the scheme. This represents the largest randomised controlled trial undertaken by the Government, the gold standard for research. Some 2,000 recipients were selected to receive a payment of €325 a week, while a further 1,000 control group members were selected to participate in research. Analysis of the results involved the comparison of averages between the two groups across a very broad range of possible impacts.

The same cohorts of recipients have remained on the scheme since 2022 in order to gather accurate comparable data. Due to attrition, the total number now on the scheme is 1,962. The pilot is underpinned by a comprehensive research programme and three impact assessments have been published so far by the Department in addition to independent reports on recipient reviews.

It is clear from all of the evidence collected to date under the scheme that it is having a positive impact for those in receipt of it. The data shows that the BIA is having a consistent positive impact across all indicators affecting practice development, sectoral retention, well-being and deprivation. However, the data also shows that the situation of the control group participants who provide the same data as the recipients but who do not get the weekly payment have significantly deteriorated given the cost-of-living crisis.

According to the data the Department has collected, 51% of those who do not receive the BIA live in enforced deprivation compared to 16% of the general population. The BIA is therefore a means of addressing consistent poverty in the sector.

The data also shows that at the start of the BIA the median income earned by those on the scheme was €19,200, which is 54% lower than the national annual median of €41,823. At the same time, recipients’ arts-related income increased by on average over €500 a month, while their income from non-arts work increased by about €280.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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The evidence is absolutely clear. As Minister said earlier, the headline from the cost benefit analysis is that society received a benefit of €1.39 for every euro spent on this scheme. The Minister said that he is in favour of this being made permanent, I think, or at least being continued. Does he agree that it should be massively expanded? Just over 8,000 artists applied to this pilot but only 2,000 were selected. It was not a merit-based selection process but instead a lottery. There are another 6,000 artists out there who wanted to participate and contribute in this way. They were not able to because of the limited funds available for the scheme.

Imagine if only one in four workers got paid for their work on the basis of a lottery every three years or only in four eligible applicants received job seeker’s payments. Does the Minister agree that the scheme needs to be expanded so that all artists who want to participate and meet the criteria can do so?

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I will finish reading the reply for the record.

Last week I published a cost benefit analysis showing the net fiscal cost of the BIA was just under €72 million over the three years compared to gross cost of €105 million over three years.

For every €1 of public money invested in the pilot, society received €1.39 in return. The cost-benefit analysis shows that audience engagement with the arts generated an estimated €16.9 million in social value over the three pilot years and improvements in psychological well-being contributed almost €80 million to total benefits. Dependence on social protection declined, with recipients receiving €100 less per month on average and being 38% less likely to receive jobseekers' payments. The findings of the report on two years of the payment shows that compared to those not in receipt of the BIA, recipients benefited in a number of ways in terms of weekly output. The BIA research has developed a strong irrefutable evidence base that the intervention works and has consistent positive impacts for those in receipt of the payment as well as broader society.

No decision on a successor scheme has been made, including potential payment levels, eligibility criteria and so on, but I have made it clear, and am making it clear again this morning in the Dáil, that I am in favour of a permanent scheme being put in place.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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Again, it is unambiguously positive. It is positive for the artists who participated and for society as a whole. It provides some sort of halt or counterpressure to the drain of mass emigration of many of our most creative young people who are effectively being driven out of here by the cost-of-living crisis and are going to live in less expensive but creative cities which is sucking the energy and life out of many of our cultural scenes.

Is the Minister in favour of the expansion of this scheme to include all who are eligible to participate? This would mean increasing the funding, perhaps even quadrupling it. Another 6,000 artists were eligible for the scheme, having met the criteria, but they lost out on the lottery. We could be getting the benefit of their work as well. Does the Minister agree that there needs to be a new scheme that is open to new applicants so that those who did not apply previously can do so?

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I do not know if the Deputy was here for the Priority Questions, but as I said earlier, no decision has been made with regard to a successor. That decision and any decisions on the details of any successor scheme will only be made once there is acceptance of what I have put before the Dáil this morning, which is that the scheme should be continued. The quantum of money available will also be relevant. There is only a week to go to the budget and ultimately, the numbers of people that will be included will reflect the amount of money the Department gets in the Vote in the budget next week.