Via The Journal Of Music: The Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O'Donovan, has announced a six-month extension to the Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) pilot scheme.
The scheme was due to end this August but the announcement means that current recipients will receive the weekly payment of €325 until next February.
Making the announcement, Minister O’Donovan said the government is committed 'to assessing the Basic Income for the Arts pilot research scheme to maximise its impact’ and that ‘in order to allow for the preparation of proposals for a new scheme’, the extension has been introduced.
The Minister also said that he intends to bring proposals for a ‘successor scheme’ to government as part of Budget 2026. The extension will be used to finalise research into the pilot and to engage with stakeholders in the arts. He added that this will ‘provide the Government with a comprehensive evidence base upon which to base future policy decisions’ related to the scheme.
The government recently published a new report on the BIA that showed it has ‘significantly’ reduced financial anxiety for recipients and increased time for creative work. Participants also reported more autonomy and a sense of validation in their profession. The research follows other reports published in 2023 and 2024 that found a decrease in depression and anxiety and improved life satisfaction.
The three-year BIA pilot commenced in September 2022. Nine thousand people applied for the scheme and two thousand artists and arts workers are currently receiving the weekly payment.
Commenting today, Minister O’Donovan said: ‘I fully appreciate the importance of the Basic Income support for artists and am glad to be able to bring some certainty to those currently on the scheme.’
The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (which was recently renamed from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media) is currently preparing another report examining the first 24 months of the scheme. A cost-benefit analysis paper is also being prepared.
Read more from the Journal Of Music here.
