Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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193. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will provide any reports, research documents or plans regarding the issue of social protection payments for artists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7703/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I recently announced that my Department in conjunction with the Department of Social Protection would devise a mechanism during 2017 to assist self-employed artists who have applied for Jobseeker's Allowance.

I have been in contact with my colleague the Minister for Social Protection on the matter and officials of our two Departments have already begun working on this initiative in consultation with the Arts Council. The scheme will be a pilot scheme and is part of the Creative Ireland Programme which was launched by the Taoiseach and I on 8 of December last. Details of the pilot scheme will be announced as soon as possible. Any reports which are generated as part of the consideration of the scheme can be released once final decisions are made.