Via The Journal Of Music: The Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O'Donovan, has published the latest report on the Basic Income for the Arts pilot.
The report shows further evidence of the impact of the scheme. Approximately two thousand artists and arts workers are currently receiving €325 per week to support their practice, and a control group of around one thousand who are not receiving the payment are also being surveyed. The latest research report shows further divergence between the two groups.
The report, written by Nadia Feldkircher and Brian O’Donnell, shows that BIA recipients have greater life satisfaction than those in the control group (7/10 compared to 6/10), spend 11 hours more time on their creative practice per week, and have increased ability to sustain themselves through arts work alone (31% compared to 22%).
BIA recipients were also less likely to 'have felt downhearted or depressed’ (15 percentage points less likely) and ‘less likely to have experienced anxiety’ (16 percentage points less likely).
However, the overall standard of living for artists and arts workers still compares unfavourably to the general population. As of October 2024, the report says, ‘30% of BIA recipients are experiencing enforced deprivation compared to 50% of the control group’, with the result that ‘BIA recipients are more likely to be able to afford basic necessities’. ‘Enforced deprivation’ is a description used by the Central Statistics Office to indicate that those surveyed can’t afford two or more basic items. The average for the general population last year was 15.7%.
Commenting on the report, Minister O’Donovan said:
"This report adds to the extensive research conducted during the pilot, which points to the importance of this scheme for the arts sector. Those in receipt of the BIA typically can devote more time to their art, have improved wellbeing and reinvest back into the arts sector.
While no decision on a successor scheme has yet been made, I have made it clear that I would like to see the scheme continued and I look forward to sharing this report with my colleagues as part of Budget 2026 discussions."
The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport recently opened a public consultation on the future of the BIA scheme and the deadline for submissions is today (5th September). It is a six-question survey that will inform the government’s future decision, which will be made as part of the Budget in October.
The survey is available here.
Read more from the Journal Of Music here
