Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 June 2025
103. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he will provide an update on the timeline for publishing the research findings from the basic income for the arts pilot; and when a decision on a successor scheme is expected. [34767/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputies will be aware, the Programme for Government commits to assessing the Basic Income for the Arts pilot research scheme to maximise its impact. The scheme has now been operating for almost three years and is underpinned by a robust research programme collecting data about all aspects of the lives of the artists and creative arts workers who are participating in the scheme.
Last week I announced that Cabinet had agreed to my proposal to an extension of six months to February 2026 to allow for further evaluation of the pilot data, which will provide the evidence base for Government to make decisions on the next steps. This will also give sufficient time to engage in stakeholder consultation.
The Programme for Government and the Government’s Research and Innovation Strategy note the importance of incorporating use of evidence into the policy development process, and of improving links between policy makers and researchers. This is a key programme to bring research and data to provide an evidence base for Government to make decisions on future policy for the arts.
The BIA research pilot is designed as a randomised control trial in order to make it possible to identify causality and has benefitted from the involvement of external researchers. This randomised control trial includes a Treatment Group of 2,000, that is the recipients of the payment, and a Control Group of 1,000 who are not in receipt of the payment.
This is the first large-scale randomised control test undertaken by a Government Department in Ireland and represents one of the leading impact evaluations underway in the Public Sector. Evaluation of the pilot is and has been continuous, with participants completing a detailed survey every six months. My Department has been undertaking a broad research programme, including:
• two papers based on baseline survey i.e. information about participants lives before they received the first BIA payment;
• two impact assessments have been published to date and my Department is currently preparing a report examining the first 24 months of the scheme, due to be published over the summer months; and
• an interview research paper, written by an independent researcher, was also published recently. This paper collects the experiences of 50 BIA recipients, who have been interviewed by a sociologist.
While the research phase of the pilot scheme is still ongoing, it is clear from evidence collected to date, under the scheme, by my Department, that it is having a positive impact on participants. This data shows that the BIA payment is having a consistent, positive impact across almost all indicators - affecting practice development, sectoral retention, well-being, and deprivation.
In terms of ongoing evaluation of the scheme, work has recently begun with an external independent economic consultancy to prepare a full cost-benefit analysis of the BIA.
A Government decision will be required on a successor scheme to the pilot, however I intend to bring proposals for a permanent intervention to Cabinet as part of Budget 2026, using the evidence arising from the research programme and stakeholder engagement.
