Ireland's basic income for artists should be expanded to all artists, not limited to a lottery system
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/caelainn-hogan. "Ireland’s basic income for artists changed my life. Other people deserve the same luck | Caelainn Hogan | The Guardian." March 13, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
Ireland tested giving some artists a basic income and found it paid for itself while helping artists create better work and improve their wellbeing. Instead of expanding this successful program to all artists, the government is keeping it as a limited lottery system, which the author argues is unfair and wastes the program's proven benefits.
Conclusion
Ireland should expand its basic income for artists scheme to all artists rather than maintaining it as a limited, lottery-based program
Premises
- The pilot scheme generated €1.39 in societal return for every euro spent, creating over €100 million in social and economic benefits
- The basic income significantly improved artists' mental health and reduced systemic precarity in the creative sector
- The scheme enabled greater creative freedom, community engagement, and experimental work that benefits society
- Creative work offers new understandings of the world, strengthens communities, and speaks important truths
- Ireland's cultural spending remains among the lowest in the EU at 0.2% of GDP compared to 0.5% average
- The current lottery system creates unfair inequality where some artists receive nine years of support while others get nothing
- Many artists face housing insecurity and cannot access the scheme due to precarious living conditions
Assumptions
- Economic return on investment is a valid measure for justifying arts funding
- All artists would produce similar positive outcomes if given basic income support
- The government has the financial capacity to expand the program significantly
- Society benefits when artists are freed from financial precarity
- Lottery-based distribution systems are inherently unfair for essential support