Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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391. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he intends to continue with the basic income pilot scheme for artists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5534/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for Government commits to assessing the Basic Income for Artists pilot to maximise its impact. In this regard, the Basic Income for the Arts pilot research scheme is ongoing until August and this will feed into Government consideration of the next steps.

In Budget 2025, Government made an allocation of €35 million for the Basic Income for the Arts in 2025. This is sufficient to fund the current pilot programme to its conclusion in August 2025 and provides the Government with flexibility for a successor support. It is important to note that the pilot is a research programme and that no decision has been taken as to the continuation of BIA, and the research evaluating the impact of the pilot scheme is ongoing.

While the research phase of the pilot scheme is still ongoing, it is clear from evidence collected to date under the scheme that it is having a positive impact on participants, and this is heartening to see. The latest data is available at the following link: .

This data shows that the BIA payment is having a consistent, positive impact across almost all indicators - 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 wellbeing through greater life satisfaction and reduced anxiety, and are protected from the precariousness of incomes in the sector to a greater degree than those who are not receiving the support.

The BIA is a unique opportunity to gather such valuable data on the arts sector, data that we did not have before. In researching impacts on recipients and the ecology of the arts, this pilot scheme has the potential to change the landscape of the arts sector within Ireland and, indeed, change how it is funded.

A Government decision will be required on a successor scheme to the pilot, and the future of the BIA will be decided when the final results of the research are available which will provide the Government with the evidence base upon which to base future policy decisions about the Basic Income for the Arts.