THE TIMELINE FOR a new, permanent scheme to financially support artists will be brought to Cabinet by Minister for Arts and Culture Patrick O’Donovan later today.

The proposed Basic Income for the Arts scheme provides for 2,000 artists to receive €325 per week for three years to mediate the inconsistent financial nature of the arts.

Applications for the 2026 scheme will open in May and artists approved for the scheme will begin receiving the payments in September, which will continue through to September 2029.

A further three months’ tapering off period is also included – payments will be made at 75% of the previous amount, to 50%, to 25% to remove a “cliff’s edge” off the scheme.

A pilot version of the scheme commenced in 2022 and ran for three years before it was extended for a further six months. In Budget 2026, it was announced that the pilot scheme would be developed into a successor scheme in 2026.

The payments are taxable and an annual audit will be carried out to ensure participants are compliant with the guidelines.

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O’Donovan is expected to outline to Cabinet the strengthened eligibility proofs to ensure that applicants are artists who demonstrate an active, Irish, professional creative practice.

A cost-benefit analysis published in September found the pilot scheme produced over €100m in socio-economic benefits. O’Donovan said the report showed the scheme had a “positive economic impact”.