Today in Focus Why Ireland is giving a basic income to artists
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Mar 20, 2026 
Kaylin Hogan, a Dublin-based freelance writer who received the pilot basic income for artists, and Rory Carroll, The Guardian’s Ireland correspondent, discuss Ireland’s €325 weekly artist payment. They talk about how the pilot changed creative work, its social and political context, debates over fairness and scale, and calls to expand support for artists.
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Musician Regained 50 Days A Year From Stub Basic Income
- Lewis Young received €325 weekly for three years and used the freedom to stop 50 low-value gigs a year and focus on composing.
- He regained about 50 extra days annually for practice, experimentation and creating new work.
Pilot Returned €1.39 For Every Euro Spent
- The pilot's cost-benefit found every euro invested returned €1.39 when including financial, wellbeing and local-spend effects.
- The analysis combined direct economic returns with improved artists' mental health and community cultural benefits.
Scheme Funded By Corporate Tax Windfall
- Ireland could afford the scheme now because high corporate tax receipts from US tech and pharma created a fiscal surplus.
- Rory Carroll links the rollout to an unusually large revenue pot rather than a universal policy shift.