Irish artists to receive €325 a week basic income from the government
- Text by Isaac Muk
Basic Income for the Arts — The scheme will begin next year, with 2,000 spaces initially allocated in the budget.
Ireland’s government has approved the permanent implementation of its Basic Income for the Arts scheme, which will see Irish artists receiving €325 a week.
The policy, which was first introduced in 2022 as a pilot programme, meant that 2,000 artists – including musicians and creatives – received the weekly stipend. Now permanent, the initial budget includes funding for 2,000 artists, with the potential to increase to 2,200 if funding becomes available.
According to RTE, an independent report undertaken earlier this year found that those receiving the Basic Income for the Arts payments spent more time creating work and art, were less stressed about their finances, as well as having improved mental well-being.
Speaking at Ireland’s Budget 2026 press conference, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan said: “The Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme, which I extended this year, will end in 2026, and I will bring a successor scheme to government with the intention of embedding a permanent basic income in the arts and culture sector.”
He continued: “This scheme is the envy of the world, and a tremendous achievement for Ireland, and must be made futureproof and sustainable.”
The move comes in an ever-more challenging landscape for artists in Ireland. Rising rents and insecure work have led to greater instability, making the prospect of sustaining a career in the arts less accessible for many.
At the same time, spaces for the arts have been hit. According to Music Venue Trust, 125 music venues closed down in Ireland in 2023, with a further 46 shuttering for good in 2024.
Isaac Muk is Huck’s digital editor. Follow him on Bluesky.
Buy your copy of Huck 82 here.
Enjoyed this article? Follow Huck on Instagram and sign up to our newsletter for more from the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture.
Support stories like this by becoming a member of Club Huck.
You might like
Young, Irish and facing up to an uncertain future
United in youth, divided in Dublin — Photographer Daragh Soden has documented a new generation of Dubliners: one growing up in crisis, paying for their parents' mistakes, yet defiantly confident.
Written by: Cian Traynor
Taking shots with Ireland’s underage drinkers
A day at the races — Last month, photographer George Voronov headed to the Galway Races – a yearly event which sees traditional Irishness collide with contemporary youth culture.
Written by: George Voronov
Grainy, yearning memories of Europe’s ’90s free rave heyday
Never Alone — A new photobook from Cheyenne Clementi and Valentina Morandi presents pictures they made over seven years while touring the continent as part of the Tekno Mobil Squad soundsystem crew. It archives parties, people and a lifestyle largely consigned to the past.
Written by: Isaac Muk
As Hanoi’s nightlife faces raids & repression, its underground scene modulates
Spaces Between the Beats — Tensions between nightlife and authorities have grown in recent times, as police target venues and their patrons with increasingly frequent drug testing and searches. With clubs becoming hostile spaces as a result, Hanoi’s electronic music community is finding new spaces and forms of expression, reports Martin Guttridge-Hewitt.
Written by: Martin Guttridge-Hewitt
American Football: The One With The Feelings
Many moons — The Midwest emo architects transformed a college experiment into a coming-of-age soundtrack. 25 years on, their latest iteration sees them bottle the same magic for the ups and downs of middle life.
Written by: Tracy Kawalik
Joe James: “I will never be absent in my children’s lives because I know it doesn’t feel nice”
Hard Feelings — As the silky MC prepares to release his debut album ‘The Ends Never Ends’, he joins our column on fatherhood and masculinity to discuss leaving his childhood home at 16, the manosphere and his risk-embracing approach to life.
Written by: Robert Kazandjian
