Artists' Remuneration
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-08
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Charlie McConalogue (FF), Donegal

I thank the Senator for her advocacy for the arts and this scheme. I agree that we need to see more art, not less. We need within our society to ensure that there is space and support for artists to follow their creative abilities, develop them and have that potential realised for themselves and for society generally. The basic income for the arts is a significant step forward and departure in that regard. We are paving new ground internationally. I have attended European Council meetings where there has been significant interest from other member states in what we are doing, given that what we are trying to achieve is pioneering. The approach taken in developing a pilot, learning from that and now putting it on a permanent basis is a sensible one designed to make the most impact in how we design the scheme. Our collective objective should be to see how we can build on that and make sure that the arts community and people with artistic ability in our communities are supported in a way that enables that talent to flourish and contribute to wider society.

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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