Ireland Launches World's First Permanent Basic Income Scheme For Artists, Paying $385 a Week
3 106Ireland has announced what it says is the world's first permanent basic income program for artists, a scheme that will pay 2,000 selected artists $385 per week for three years, funded by an $21.66 million allocation from Budget 2026. The program follows a 2022 pilot -- the Irish government's first large-scale randomized control trial -- that found participants had greater professional autonomy, less anxiety, and higher life satisfaction.
An external cost-benefit analysis of the pilot calculated a return of $1.65 to society for every $1.2 invested. The new scheme will operate in three-year cycles, and artists who receive the payment in one cycle cannot reapply until the cycle after next. A three-month tapering-off period will follow each cycle. The government plans to publish eligibility guidelines in April and open applications in May, and payments to selected artists are expected to begin before the end of 2026.
3 comments
Re:Define "artist" (Score: 5, Funny)
by groobly ( 6155920 ) on Monday February 16, 2026 @12:13PM (#65992282)
It gets assigned at birth.
Not UBI (Score: 5, Informative)
by nealric ( 3647765 ) on Monday February 16, 2026 @12:45PM (#65992418)
This is a sexed-up grant program. Various "artists in residency" and similar grant programs have existed for quite some time with the idea of paying artists so they can have time to create. This is just relabeling the grant payments as "UBI".
But UBI isn't supposed to be paying you because of some merit or value you add to society. In fact, the idea is making payments to people precisely because a lot of individuals have no particular or unique skill and such individuals may be replaced by machines.
Normal for real countries. (Score: 5, Insightful)
by nospam007 ( 722110 ) * ) on Monday February 16, 2026 @01:16PM (#65992506)
Several countries do provide personal stipends, working grants, or quasi-salary systems for artists.
France
Through the “intermittents du spectacle” system, performing artists can receive unemployment-style income support between contracts, if they meet work-hour thresholds. It’s not a universal artist salary, but it functions as income stabilization.
Germany
Artists can receive working grants (Arbeitsstipendien) that support living costs for a period of time without requiring a specific deliverable. There’s also the Künstlersozialkasse, which subsidizes health and pension insurance for self-employed artists.
Nordic countries
This is where it gets serious.
Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland offer multi-year working grants and, in some cases, long-term stipends that function almost like partial salaries. Norway has had lifetime grants for selected artists. These are competitive but substantial.
Netherlands
Individual artist grants exist via national arts funds, often covering living expenses during creative periods.
Ireland
The Basic Income for the Arts pilot (launched 2022) provides direct monthly payments to selected artists. It’s explicitly personal income support.
Canada
The Canada Council offers individual artist grants covering living and creation time. Some provinces provide additional stipends.