State in line to pay €140m artists’ tab
Scheme that pays basic wage of €350 a week to 2,000 could soon be extended to cover the country’s 8,000-plus artistic community
EXTENDING a pilot income scheme to all the country’s 8,000plus eligible artists would cost the State €140m, Arts Minister Catherine Martin has confirmed.
It comes as advocates are calling for the Basic Income for the Arts scheme, currently being trialled by 2,000 applicants, to be extended to the wider artistic community.
Under the scheme, artists from all disciplines have been receiving €325 a week (€16,900 a year) since last September, on top of any other income they may receive – or instead of the standard social welfare payment for those who have no other income.
The trial will last for three years, with participants completing assessment surveys twice a year.
The 2,000 trialists were chosen at random from 8,209 eligible applications, with artists having to show a portfolio of work and prove they had previously received income for their work.
Proponents of the scheme say a ‘divergence’ in the professional fortunes of those receiving the payment and a control group of 1,000 who were not selected is already beginning to show.
Angela Dorgan, who is CEO of the Arts Council-funded First Music Contact (FMC) and works closely with emerging talent, told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘We have to have the conversation now about what happens after the three years because the decision will be made in budget ‘24.’
Ms Dorgan said FMC’s research shows artists are in ‘dire poverty’ and, as a group, have been 33% slower to recover from the pandemic and are already 33% behind most professionals in terms of wage and payments.
In response to parliamentary queries from People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Richard Boyd Barrett, Minister Martin, who introduced the scheme, confirmed: ‘To pay each eligible applicant a weekly amount of €325 would cost approximately €139m per year [and] to extend this beyond those who met the eligibility criteria would increase the cost further.’
She added the ‘scheme and research programme we are conducting will provide a significant evidence base to inform future Government policy in the arts and has the potential to change the landscape of the arts in Ireland and how we fund it’.
It is understood that the minister hopes the trial will be extended to all artists, but a demand for €140m extra in funding would likely spark pushback from Cabinet colleagues.
Despite the significant sums involved, Deputy Boyd Barrett called on the Coalition to extend the scheme.
The Dun Laoghaire TD – whose birth mother is the actor Sinéad Cusack – said: ‘If the Government truly valued art and the contribution artists make to enhancing the quality of all of our lives and our society, they should extend the basic income for artists to all those who need it rather than just a randomly selected minority.
‘Some people may think being an artist, an actor, a musician, or working in the arts is very glamorous. In reality, the majority are surviving on very low incomes, often in real poverty with no security of income or employment.’
Ms Dorgan said it is time for a ‘very serious conversation’ about why the music industry in Ireland and internationally is burgeoning when those making
‘Research shows artists are in dire poverty’
the music are ‘still in poverty’. A report published by PwC Ireland earlier this month showed that the Irish music and radio market generated €379m in 2022, up 32% from €286m in 2021. It is forecast to reach €453m by 2027.
Live music is the largest segment of the Irish music and radio market, accounting for 44% of that 2022 figure. Revenues for the sector are expected to continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.1% – above the global rate of 4.6%.
‘It frustrates me that it continues to be that the people creating the art which all of the festivals, the gigs and the records are sold off the back of are the worst off in the paradigm,’ Ms Dorgan said.
‘These are people creating art out of thin air. They should be supported and if the music industry isn’t doing it, then this basic income is a step in the right direction.’
However, a source working in social and economic policy, who did not wish to be named, described the €140m cost of funding the extension to the income scheme as ‘a huge amount of money’.
They told the MoS: ‘You could get an awful lot for €140m. And the difficulty, of course, is that not everybody who is a professional artist needs money. Certainly, most artists don’t make a bunch of money, but some working artists have other sources of income.
‘The stereotype that every artist is struggling in the attic and can’t make ends meet is inaccurate. So
‘Irish music market generated €379m’
there is a risk of inefficiency with that kind of scheme.’
The source suggested a basic income experiment could include ‘people who might be a volunteer in their community or are doing other very worthwhile things.
‘If you’re going to do the basic income thing, take it in other directions rather than just focusing on one community who have their vocal advocates who are pushing this, but who are not necessarily thinking about the bigger picture’.
In response to queries from the MoS, a spokesman for Minister Martin’s Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media said: ‘While we have no plans to increase the number of participants, the research involved will inform future Government policy in the arts and has the potential to change the landscape of the arts in Ireland and how we fund it. The pilot scheme is due to run from 2022-2025.
‘Reports will be published throughout the pilot, and will indicate what effects the payment is having on the participants. The first of these papers will be published in the coming weeks, before the end of this year. We are looking at lots of types of impact data from participants including the effect the payment has on their creativity, the amount of time they devote to the arts, their wellbeing, and their ability to earn additional income from the arts.’
‘You could get an awful lot for €140m’