Ireland's government has confirmed that its 'Basic Income for the Arts' pilot scheme will become a permanent support scheme for musicians starting in January 2026.

It will see around 2,000 artists, musicians, singers, instrumentalists, composers and sound engineers guaranteed 325 Euro per week to help stabilize incomes and boost creative output over the three-year period.

Non-means tested

The Minister for Culture Patrick O'Donovan stated that the scheme will remain non-means-tested, paid 52 weeks a year, and could expand to 2,200 musicians if funding allowed.

It follows analysis from the independent Maynooth University that found that it enabled artists to spend an extra 8 hours er week on music creation and practice, and produce 40 percent more recordings.

Levels of anxiety also dropped by 60 percent whilst every Euro invested in the scheme produced 1.39 Euro in return.

Praise

The influential Irish Music Rights Organisation praised the policy for helping songwriters recover from pandemic losses, whilst the Musicians' Union of Ireland noted depression rates among musicians fell from 75 percent to 50 percent thanks to reduced financial stress.