Pre-Budget Submission Calls on the Government to Support Continued Basic Income for the Arts
National Campaign for the Arts launches their pre-budget submission calling on the government to include pay for artists in the 2026 budget.
The National Campaign for the Arts (NCFA) has launched its pre-budget submission calling on government representatives to support its campaign for the Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) scheme to remain in place on a more permanent basis. The NCFA calls on the government to permanently retain, extend, and expand the scheme.
Recently, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and its Minister, Patrick O’Donovan, issued a report that unequivocally proved the success of the BIA scheme that has been in place for the last three years on a limited basis. Taking lessons from the report, both the government department and the NCFA want to pursue a more permanent funding model that the Minister will present to the government for approval over the coming months.
Some key findings from the recent report included:
● The first-year assessment report found that recipients were significantly better able to make ends meet and experienced a notable reduction in enforced deprivation, allowing them to afford basic necessities like heating, clothing, and social participation.
● Since its inception, BIA has proved to be a success, with recipients reporting greater living standards, reduced depression and stress, and a higher quality of creative work output.
● BIA recipients were more productive, spending on average almost 8 weekly hours more on their creative practice and completing an average of 3.6 more new works in the past six months.
● According to the latest government report, artists and people who work in the creative industries experience extreme deprivation in their everyday lives.
Following the report, which unequivocally proved the scheme’s positive impact on artists’ productivity and standard of living, the NCFA is calling for BIA to move beyond a pilot and be rolled out on a statutory basis. The campaign to retain, extend and expand the basic income for the arts has received significant and widespread support from over 10,000 artists, arts workers and arts organisations.
The National Campaign for the Arts (NCFA) is a volunteer-led, grassroots movement that makes the case for the arts in Ireland. They work to ensure that the arts are on local and national government agendas and are recognised as a vital part of contemporary Irish life.
For further information on the campaign and the organisation, visit www.ncfa.ie.