Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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59. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to report on the progress of the universal basic income for artists pilot scheme; if she intends to expand it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23582/23]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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The Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) pilot was a key priority for me. I see this scheme as an important intervention to support the arts sector recover after the devastation wreaked by the Covid pandemic. Covid highlighted both the precarious nature of working in the arts and the importance of the arts for us all.

The pilot was also the number one recommendation of the Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce which I established in 2020 to examine ways in which to help the arts recover post pandemic. I was very pleased to have been able to deliver on this recommendation.

Payments on the scheme began at the end of October 2022.

The 2,000 recipients were selected to receive payment of €325 per week. A further 1,000 Control Group members were also selected to participate in the research. As analysis of the results of participant surveys will involve a comparison of averages between the two groups, it is intended that participants selected in 2022 remain on the scheme for the full three years. It is not intended to invite new applications.

The pilot scheme includes a research programme which will examine, over a three-year period, the impact of a basic income style payment on artists and creative arts workers. As such, evaluation will be continuous, including a longitudinal study which will see participants surveyed every six months. The data gathered as part of the research will provide an evidence base around the impact of the policy.

The scheme is a randomised control trial which consists of two groups of randomly selected people. One will receive the basic income – the treatment group, while the other, – the control group, will not. Analysis of the results will involve a comparison of averages between the two groups. As the groups have the same characteristics at baseline and are large enough to be a statistically representative sample, any difference arising during the trial can be assumed to have been caused by the policy.

The main research will be a longitudinal study with six monthly surveys. Survey data will be compared against a baseline survey which took place before payments began. As the information collection has only begun, the Department does not yet have data on the Pilot Research Scheme to share. Data collected will be made available to independent researchers should they want to do their own research on related topics of interest.

The research project is being undertaken by a group of economists and policy analysts who are all members of IGEES (the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service). In addition, the ESRI and IGESS will provide peer review support around methodology and research papers being produced as part of the project.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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60. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht how will she ensure that social welfare recipients are not faced with disadvantage and hardship, such as with unpayable debts and threats of legal consequences, as a result of participation in the basic income scheme. [23710/23]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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e Basic Income for Artists pilot scheme has been introduced following extensive consultation with the arts sector to assess how such a scheme can best support professional arts practice in Ireland. The associated research programme will capture data on all aspects of the scheme to inform future policy responses to the needs of the sector. This will include the interaction of the €325 per week payment with social welfare supports, which are a matter for the Department of Social Protection. Feedback on the scheme from recipients to date is overwhelmingly positive and I have sympathy of course with any recipients who may be experiencing difficulty in relation to social welfare issues.

The issues raised by the Deputy relate primarily to the manner in which social welfare schemes assess income from other sources. These are matters for the Minister for Social Protection under various chapters of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 as amended. Any changes to the social welfare code would require amendments to the Social Welfare Act, for which I have no statutory responsibility and would be a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection.

Social Welfare legislation obliges every claimant or beneficiary to notify the Department of Social Protection (DSP) of any change in circumstances, this includes the acquisition of any new income such as the BIA. My Department highlighted this obligation in the Guidelines and FAQ's for the scheme. When accepting a place on the scheme, applicants were strongly advised to investigate what their own particular tax and social welfare situation would be should they receive payment.

The overarching objective of the BIA scheme is to address the earnings instability that can be associated with the intermittent, periodic, and often project-based nature of work in the arts. It aims to ensure that participants retain a steady and predictable income during the pilot and help artists develop self-sustaining creative practices. The scheme is also an opportunity to conduct in-depth research into the pay and living conditions of Ireland's artists.

The BIA pilot was a key priority for me as Minister with responsibility for arts and culture. I look forward to seeing the results of the research programme underpinning the pilot which will assess the effectiveness of the BIA as an intervention. Publication of the research should commence during the summer.