Irish government begins paying 2,000 artists a weekly income
nme.comCOVID pandemic.Musicians, visual artists, writers, dancers, actors and those working in film are among the anonymous recipients who have been chosen at random from a pool of more than 9,000 people.
News of the scheme was first shared in January.The Basic Income for the Arts scheme will run for three years at a cost of €25m (£22million), reports the BBC.As was the case in Northern Ireland, arts and entertainment venues in the Republic of Ireland were closed for long periods due to COVID restrictions which affected artists’ income.The payment is not means tested so the 2,000 people selected may still be eligible for social welfare payments and will still be able to earn other money from their work.
However, they do have to take part in a research project that collects data about the impact of the payment.The Irish government has provided a breakdown of which Irish county the 2,000 people to receive the income live in.
At 764, Dublin has the highest numbers of recipients followed by Cork (212) and Galway (148).More than 700 visual artists have been selected to receive the payments, along with 584 musicians, 204 working in film and 184 writers.About 170 actors and others working in theatre were also selected, along with 32 dancers and choreographers, 13 circus artists and 10 architects.
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