The Irish government is rolling out a groundbreaking scheme that will provide 2,000 artists with a basic income for three years, enabling them to focus on their creative work while maintaining a stable standard of living.
Under the program, which follows a three-year pilot, eligible artists will receive €325 ($386) per week for three years, followed by a three-month tapering period as the income gradually decreases. The payments are taxable but not tied to output, giving creatives a predictable income, the ability to plan ahead, and the freedom to reduce other jobs.
The scheme is open to a wide range of artists, including writers, visual artists, actors, musicians, makeup designers, and directors.
Peter Power, an artist, musician, and designer on the steering committee of the National Campaign for the Arts, called it “a fundamental change.” He explained, “It changes your relationship with banks, landlords, savings, pensions. The fundamental architecture of being a secure citizen becomes available… it’s hard to put a metric on that.”
For artists like Aisling O’Mara, who were accepted into the pilot program, the basic income has been a lifeline, allowing her to continue working in the creative industry while navigating major life events—she discovered she was pregnant shortly after joining the scheme.
“Without it, I don’t think it would be feasible for me and my daughter to continue living the way we are, and I don’t think it would have been possible for me to stay in this industry,” O’Mara said. She added, “Acting requires time—you need to dedicate time to auditions and preparation—and this support allows that.”
Dancers performed at the Irish National Youth Ballet’s production of Cinderella at The Samuel Beckett Theatre in Dublin on December 8, 2023.
For artists like Aisling O’Mara, whose career she balances alongside teaching, the basic income scheme has been transformative. Her career flourished during her participation in the program, and she is now starring as the lead in a theatrical adaptation of Katriona O’Sullivan’s bestselling memoir Poor.
Yet she remains acutely aware of the financial instability even successful actors face. “I have friends in their 40s who are hugely successful in the industry, couch surfing… that is wild to me,” she said.
How Art Is ‘Valued’
Not every artist who applied to the government’s new policy will receive a basic income. Over 8,000 eligible artists applied to the original pilot scheme, but only a quarter were randomly selected to participate.
The income also has a time limit. After three years, recipients like O’Mara must reapply for the next funding cycle, which occurs three years later, and they cannot receive consecutive funding.
“We all want a society that’s fair for everybody, but for now there’s a limit,” said Peter Power, an artist and member of the National Campaign for the Arts steering committee. “This is an entirely new branch of funding, a new ideology around how art is valued culturally and socially. We have to see this as a first step.”
When asked about support for artists between funding cycles, a spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Communications and Sport (DCCS) told CNN that “record funding over €140 million ($167 million) has been provided for the Arts Council in 2026, an increase of 75% since 2020.” They did not specify whether the basic income scheme would expand in the future.
Most pilot schemes testing universal basic income never progress beyond the trial stage. But Power says the success of Ireland’s pilot, combined with the unique cultural importance of the arts—especially after the Covid-19 pandemic—helped make the program more permanent.
An independent cost-benefit analysis commissioned by the DCCS found that for every €1 invested in the scheme, society received €1.39 in economic and social benefits.
“We have a complex relationship with our heritage, history, cultural voice, language, and art,” Power said. “Much of the value we find as a culture comes from storytelling and creating art.”
