Arts Funding
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-11
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Roderic O'Gorman (GP), Dublin West

Over 10,000 people made applications for this particular round of the successor to the basic income for the arts scheme. The Department is in a position to support only about 20% of them. This means just over 2,000 artists will be supported and the other 80% will be left disappointed. This is about a similar level of disappointed applicants as we saw in the original pilot scheme launched by the then Minister, Catherine Martin. It is disappointing to see that the scheme is not growing. We welcomed at that time that there would be another round of funding coming for three years but the fact it is not growing and that more artists are not being supported and will not be able to enjoy the very real benefits of the scheme, which were charted by the research undertaken, is a letdown and I know many artists in the sector feel let down.
The Minister of State referenced that continuing research will be undertaken on the impact of the financial support on the second group of artists who receive it. Will he give us more detail about what is being measured and what is being examined? Will it be the same as the first time or are other benefits of the scheme being considered? Has consideration been given to putting the basic income for the arts scheme on a statutory footing so there would be real certainty that the scheme is an established part of the State's support for the artistic community?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:05+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-11