This is the demand of Galway city councillor Níall McNelis (Lab ) who has welcomed the Government’s decision in Budget 2026 to make the State’s pilot Basic Income for Artists (BIA ) scheme permanent this month, but warned that serious questions remain unanswered about how it will operate.
He says the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Patrick O’Donovan, must urgently clarify how existing recipients of the pilot scheme will be treated, and how new applicants will be assessed.
“I welcomed the news that the Basic Income for the Artists scheme will now be made permanent. Labour has long supported a stable, fair, and transparent income model for those working in the arts and creative sectors.
“This scheme represents an important recognition of the cultural and economic value of creative work, and it is right that it should now have a long-term future. We see this daily in Galway city, where we hang the creative industry as a hook to promote the city.
“However, serious questions remain about how the scheme will function from next year. The Minister has said that 2,000 new entrants – possibly extended to 2,200 – will be admitted to the scheme in 2026. What we need to know is whether this number is in addition to the 2,000 participants currently on the pilot scheme, or if existing artists will be forced to reapply?
For its initial phase, 8,209 eligible applications were received for the payment of €325 per week, first introduced as a three-year pilot in 2022.
“How will the Department decide who qualifies this time around? What criteria will be used to ensure fair and equal access to support across all art forms, regions, and career stages? If this is simply an extension of the pilot without broader inclusion, then it risks leaving behind thousands of working artists who also deserve support.
“Minister O’Donovan must now publish detailed information about the next phase of the scheme – including how eligibility will be assessed, how artists already on the pilot will be treated, and how transparency will be guaranteed in the selection process. The arts sector needs certainty, not confusion.
“Artists have waited years for this kind of recognition from the State. Now that it’s finally here, Government must get it right. Labour is calling for full clarity, equal access, and a fair system that genuinely supports creativity and sustainability in Ireland’s arts sector.”
