In all seriousness the news from Ireland is massive. 2000 artists will receive a basic income of €325 a week in 3 year cycles. Practising artists will be invited to apply in May and 2000 will be randomly selected for the basic income payments for 3 years. If selected for payments in 2026 – 2029, an artist won’t be eligible for the payment in the next cycle, but can reapply in the cycle following that.
At most, an artist will receive a basic income for 3 of every 6 years. Random selection means there’s a chance some eligible artists will be waiting a long time for their basic income. In the pilot only 1 in 4 artists who applied were selected to receive payments. So there are some strong critiques of the policy:
- This is a rolling grant rather than a true basic income.
- It is not universal, even for artists, as only 2000 artists at a time will be receiving payments.
- The lottery system and 3 year cycle means eligible artists don’t gain true, predictable financial security from the scheme.
But this is a massive expansion of the scheme. Many artists will benefit from the same transformative effects that were seen in the pilot. It’s also Ireland’s first permanent basic income. So a big win for UBI and lots for us to look to and learn from. Join us on 26th March in Glasgow to drive forward the Conversation here in Scotland.
.png "Basic Income Conversation")
![[We're building a movement for a basic income in the UK. Donate today to help.]](https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/tNXHZhwZ97TIvIAUpveaKRRH1YxnWDWcOgwdFzRsljX7uamnJzxF6zH0-8ybXNN2kpzMuvPRrG91PAcpcRz_hff_31MQytkJ2ji1vyqO4qmS7__byZA=s0-d-e1-ft#https://actionnetwork.org/unlayer_files/1709811063982-Title+(1).png "[We're building a movement for a basic income in the UK. Donate today to help.]")
