Ireland to Launch Universal Basic Income Program for Artists

14 comments
  1. Catherine Martin, Ireland’s minister of tourism, culture, arts, Gaeltacht, sport and media, on January 6 initiated an online consultation aimed at soliciting opinions regarding the creation of a basic income plan for a number of the country’s artists.

    The scheme, which Martin described as a “once-in-a-generation policy intervention,” is meant to assist those working in the fields of arts, culture, audio-visual, and live performance and events who suffered economically as the global Covid-19 crisis surged in-country.

    The program will cover two thousand arts and culture workers for a span of three years. The government has earmarked €25 million ($28.3 million) for the plan, which is expected to go into force later this winter.

    The online consultation runs through January 27 and follows on a report from a task force assembled by Martin last year to wrestle with the problem of how best to assist those in the culture sector. The committee’s top recommendation was the creation of a basic income pilot program that would award selected arts workers €10.50 ($11.90) per hour.

  2. Once upon a time being an artist meant more than just trying to collect government’s handouts.
    Guess those times are gone for good.

  3. So why don’t those UK artists complaining they can’t tour in Europe move to Ireland? Basic income plus frictionless touring.

  4. One thing I wish to happen is for medias to refer to targeted system aimed at one or several categories of citizens as just a basic income or subsidy but not UBI which is aimed at every adult citizen hence it contains words like universal.

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