Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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575. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 941 and 719 of 10 June 2025, to clarify with his counterpart at the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport which Minister and Department has overall responsibility for protecting artists from sudden income shocks due to sudden or unexpected loss of income; and whether there is any co-ordination between sectoral interventions and welfare payments in this sector. [32689/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides income supports for people who are unemployed.

As I outlined in my previous response, the Professional Artist Scheme under Jobseeker’s Allowance provides support for unemployed artists whereby they are exempt from labour market activation for up to 12 months to focus on their profession. The other conditions associated with Jobseeker’s Allowance, including a means test, continue to apply, as they do for all other claimants. The rate of payment structure, payable at the standard personal rate of €244 with additional payments for dependent adults or children, is also the same as for all Jobseeker's Allowance claimants.

My Department also provides income supports to support workers who are working casually or intermittently under the PRSI-based Jobseeker's Benefit scheme or the Jobseeker's Allowance scheme. A person can work up to three days per week and continue to receive a partial payment under these schemes. Where a person is fully unemployed, they may be entitled to support under the new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit scheme provided that they meet the statutory conditions for the scheme. Further detail on all supports for jobseekers, including the operational guidelines, are available on gov.ie.

Sectoral interventions for the film and television industry are matters for my colleague, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport. Any such interventions are considered by Government in the context of interdependencies and impacts across existing supports, which would include social welfare payments. The overarching objective of the Basic Income for the Arts Pilot Scheme for which my colleague the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport also has responsibility, is to address the earnings instability that can be associated with the intermittent, periodic, and often project-based nature of work in the arts.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.