Artists' Remuneration
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-08
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Nessa Cosgrove (LAB), Labour Panel

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Nach éagóir é go bhfuil ealaíontóirí na tíre á gcur ar stáitse againn chun saibhreas cultúrtha na tíre a léiriú, ach iad beo bocht? Níl sé sin ceart ar chor ar bith. Since ancient times, we Irish have been famous for literature, storytelling, music and whatever we generally call "the arts". It is a term that is used to describe a wide variety of creative work from which we, as individuals and a society, benefit. We lean on the arts in this country, from visual art, painting, sculpture, film, performing arts, theatre, circus and spectacle to the composition of literature and music. Especially in my part of the world, we all know how much we rely on that arts. They have such an impact on people's lives. Nearly everyone engages with some level of art in their daily lives.
There is no accurate way to count how many people are actively involved in the arts as creators at a professional level but we know it is a massive amount of people. We can say with certainty, however, that over 10,000 artists and creative workers applied for the initial pilot of the basic income for artists in 2022, and that 2,000 of those artists and creative workers were selected for inclusion in the pilot. Those lucky enough to be selected between 2022 and 2026 received a payment of €325 per week. It was used by them to support them in a professional practice. We are all familiar with the historic link between artists and poverty, and the reality is that it is ongoing. Many artists live in poverty. We rely on them so much. Last Wednesday, at the launch of our EU Presidency, it was wonderful for us to show the world the creative richness we have here.
In 2025, the Arts Council produced a toolkit, Fair Pay, Fair Practice. Its purpose is admirable and it is consistent with values that I believe in. In my previous job, I worked to support artists. The fact that the Arts Council had to produce this policy toolkit clearly demonstrates that everybody who works in the arts knows the work that artists do and that they are not paid fairly for their work. There are unseen hours of preparation, research and gathering materials. In other professions, you would get paid for that, but for some reason, that work when done by creatives goes without pay.
Organisations employ artists at rates that never reflect that value of what they produce. They are not the ones to blame for this. To attribute a financial value to something that may be conceptual or dependent on taste is a challenge. I understand it is a challenge. This is why the basic income for artists works. It is about ensuring that artists have a basic income on which they can rely, allowing them to concentrate purely on the value of their product rather than spending so long either in part-time work or filling out unnecessary forms and grant applications.
During the downturn, which started in 2008, the consequences of which we are still living with, an estimated 48% of artists left their practice. Imagine that this scheme had been in operation since then. Who did we lose from the art world before they ever got the chance to shine?
In fairness, I will give deserved respect to the former Minister, Catherine Martin. She deserves great respect for bringing in the scheme. The fact that the pilot has been extended to a full and permanent scheme, which will run on a three-year cycle from 2026 to 2029, demonstrates the commitment of the current Minister. I am asking whether there is any intention to build on it. We know it works. We know how much as a country we lean on artistic ability. We lean on creativity. People definitely do not come here for the weather. They come here for the richness of our culture and heritage. We saw the number of people who applied and were approved for the scheme. Could it be extended? Could the basic income for artists be extended so we give the artists the commitment and recognition in monetary value that they deserve?

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-08/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:10+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-08