2,000 eligible artists will be randomly selected to get €325 per week, after the pilot found that for every €1 invested, society received €1.39 in return.
It’s not enough to live on, but it is enough to see artists through their arts without taking on side gigs and onerous secondary jobs.
During the pilot, artists reported they had more time for their art, produced more work, experienced a boost in well-being, had greater life satisfaction and that it reduced their anxiety.
— The BIA [Basic Income for Artists] pilot research has consistently demonstrated both the positive impact it has had on those in receipt of it and how difficult it is to work as an artist in Ireland, says Culture Minister Patrick O’Donovan.
This is the first such officially enacted Government-based basic income program in the world, O’Donovan says.
Read more: Irish Government announcement, writeups on IrishCentral and The Guardian.
