Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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964. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of applicants for the basic income for the arts scheme; if his Department will be able to support when the new scheme opens in Q4 2026; if the artists who were on the pilot scheme will be able to apply for admission to the new scheme; and the number of successful applicants to the new scheme be eligible to receive the basic income for the arts payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59525/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I was delighted to have secured an allocation for a successor scheme to the Basic Income for the Arts pilot as part of Budget 2026. While the detail of the future scheme will need to be agreed by Government, this is a major milestone for the arts in Ireland and I am particularly pleased that the research my Department conducted provided Government with a clear evidence base upon which to make that decision.

Eligibility criteria and parameters for a successor scheme have not been finalised. The cost of the Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) pilot scheme was €35m for a full calendar year for 2,000 artists to participate, with each recipient receiving €325 a week. There were over 8,200 eligible applicants to the pilot scheme in 2022. To have funded all those eligible would have cost approximately €139m per year.

The research has consistently demonstrated both the positive impact the BIA has had for those in receipt of it and how difficult it is to work as an artist in Ireland given the income precarity prevalent in the sector. The BIA successor scheme will help to sustain the careers of those artists who will receive it and retain their talent in the arts sector.

With an allocation of €18.27m in my Department’s 2026 Estimate, I look forward to the design and delivery of the successor scheme next year.

I can confirm that the BIA pilot scheme will end in February 2026, which is when the final pilot payment will be made to the current cohort of recipients. While eligibility is not yet finalised, a new cohort of recipients will be selected based on eligible applications for the successor scheme, so therefore it will not be the same 2,000 recipients.

Stakeholder consultation and engagement with other relevant Government Departments on the design of the new scheme will continue to determine details such as the duration, eligibility and selection method, the details of which have not yet been decided. Once the parameters of the scheme have been agreed by Cabinet I intend to publish them.