The first payments under the Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme are being issued today.
Under the scheme 2,000 recipients will receive €325 per week for three years.
Research will also be carried out on the payment that will inform future Government policy in the arts sector.
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin said: "The delivery of the Basic Income for the Arts has been a key priority for me.
"I am very pleased that payments have now begun and I look forward to seeing the results of the data collection.
"This pilot scheme will research the impact of a basic income style payment for artists and will inform future Government policy on how best to support artists and the arts sector."
Over 9,000 applications were made under the scheme with over 8,200 assessed as eligible and included in a randomised anonymous selection process.
The group of 2,000 grant recipients includes representatives from all art forms, age groups, ethnicities and counties.
A basic income for the arts was the number one recommendation of the Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce which was set up by Minister Martin in 2020 to examine how the sector could adapt and recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
