Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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58. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will consider increasing the rates of remuneration for artists who will be chosen to avail of the basic income for the arts scheme. [64593/25]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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59. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if supports will remain in place for those in receipt of the basic income for the arts payment for the period between the end of the pilot scheme and the commencement of a successor scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64603/25]

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 at that rate 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. This amount will allow for the funding of the extension to the current recipients to February 2026 and will allow me to fund new recipients later in 2026.

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 is ongoing 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 Government I intend to publish them.