Greens accuse government of “botching” Basic Income for Arts scheme

The Green Party has said that the government has “botched” management of the Basic Income for the Arts scheme.

Clontarf councillor Donna Cooney, who serves as the party’s arts spokesperson, said that the scheme was designed to bring stability to artists’ income, but will now instead do the opposite.

Last week, artists found out, through a staggered process, if their application was successful or not.

Cooney said the fact the process was staggered means that full funding for the scheme is not in place, and that it is not being handled properly by the government.

The scheme is one of the full legacies of the Greens’ previous stint in government, with the government putting climate issues on the back burner and reducing funding for public transport relative to when the Greens were in coalition.

And now, the Greens are saying the government are subtly trying to undo one of their lasting achievements.

Earlier in October, applicants received an email to say just 750 artists out of the 10,000 applicants would receive the payment in 2026, which ran contrary to Minister O’Donovan’s statement that 2,000 artists would receive the payment.

Cooney said, “it is obvious that Budget 2027 didn’t allocate enough funding, so artists will be randomly selected and paid in batches; some added in January 2027 and others later in 2027 with an unknown date and suggestion of backdated payments.”

Cooney called the process a “nightmare roller-coaster” where artists’ wellbeing is being toyed with by this government, and goes against the aims of the Basic Income for Artists of providing stability and wellbeing to creatives.

Green Party Senator Malcolm Noonan, member of the Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications and Culture, said that the government must “stop speaking out of both sides of its mouth” on the topic.

Senator Noonan said “this government says it supports artists, and uses their services to promote the country, yet just one in five applicants for this scheme will receive funding, and even then only a portion of them will know when that support will begin. That goes against the very spirit of the scheme.”

Senator Noonan commented, “we had hoped that the model for the basic income scheme would be extended to more artists and beyond to other professions such as small-scale food producers and growers, and inshore fishers, both of whom are experiencing significant challenges. This shambolic management of this scheme shows once more that this government is lacking in ideas and direction.”