Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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232. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department will expand the Creative Ireland social welfare pilot beyond writers and visual art artists to include the performing artists and makers (details supplied); the estimated cost of extending the scheme to these artists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39294/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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A pilot initiative to assist self-employed visual artists and writers who apply to my Department for jobseeker’s allowance was launched in June 2017. The initiative, which is a commitment under the Creative Ireland Programme, involved collaboration between my Department and what is now the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, with the support and advice of the Arts Council. It was decided after a process of consultation that the initiative would apply to members of Visual Arts Ireland (VAI) and the Irish Writers Centre (IWC).

A key feature of the initiative is that it acknowledges the status of self-employed artists and writers and gives them a 12 month window to focus on building up their work before they become subject to labour market activation services provided by my Department. Applicants must satisfy all of the usual qualifying conditions for jobseeker’s allowance, including a means test.

It is not possible to estimate the cost of extending this pilot initiative to categories listed by the Deputy as there is no data available on the numbers of people who are likely to qualify on the basis of their status as a self-employed professional artist.

It is planned that a review of the pilot initiative will commence shortly and the findings of the review will inform any further decisions regarding its future.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy at this time.