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Basic Income for the Arts Pilot Scheme: Guidelines
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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The application portal is now closed.
Deadline for receipt of all applications was 1pm on Thursday 12 May 2022.
Please note: The application portal closed at that time and applications which were not fully submitted ahead of that time were not considered.
The BIA team will continue to contact applicants where clarification or further information is needed after the deadline, but only for applications which were received by the deadline.
Applicants may make only one application to participate. Making multiple applications will disqualify applicants from the scheme.
Applicants should be aware that the Basic Income for the Arts is a pilot research programme. Therefore, participants will be required to engage in ongoing data collection as part of the pilot. As this is a research pilot there is no guarantee that funding will continue after the pilot.
Please read the guidelines carefully with regard to the data collection requirements for participants.
The Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme will run over a three year period (2022 – 2025) and will be open to eligible artists and creative arts sector workers. Eligibility will be based on the definition of the arts as contained in the Arts Act 2003;
““arts” means any creative or interpretative expression (whether traditional or contemporary) in whatever form, and includes, in particular, visual arts, theatre, literature, music, dance, opera, film, circus and architecture, and includes any medium when used for those purposes”.
The overarching objective of the scheme is to address the earnings instability that can be associated with the intermittent, periodic, and often project-based nature of work in the arts. The scheme will research the impact on artists and creative arts workers creative practice of providing the security of a basic income, thereby reducing income precarity.
The aims of the scheme, as set out in the table below, will form the basis upon for the measurement of the pilot scheme's impact.
| To enable artists and creative arts workers to focus on artistic and creative work during the period of the pilot, without having to enter into employment in other sectors to sustain themselves. | Career Viability/Sectoral Retention |
| To assesses if, during the period of the pilot, self-employment presents a viable pathway for artistic and creative work, by reducing income instability. | Career Viability |
| To capitalise on investment in sectoral skills and expertise developed through education within the sector. | Career Viability |
| To minimise the loss of skill and experience from the arts sector. | Sectoral Retention |
| To reduce the need for artists and creative arts workers to avail of social protection supports including Jobseekers. | Income Stability |
| To ensure participants retain a steady and predictable income during the period of the pilot. | Income Stability |
| To measure any multi-dimensional well-being impacts of the scheme on participants. | Wellbeing |
| To give recognition to the value of time spent on developing a creative practice. | Recognition |
| To give recognition to the value of the arts and the role of creative practice in Irish society. | Recognition |
- practising artists
- creative arts workers (see definition below), or
- recently trained applicants (within the last 5 years)
For the purposes of the BIA scheme a Creative Arts Worker is defined as follows:
“A creative arts worker is someone who has a creative practice and whose creative work makes a key contribution to the production, interpretation or exhibition of the arts. “Arts” means any creative or interpretative expression (whether traditional or contemporary) in whatever form, and includes, in particular, visual arts, theatre, literature, music, dance, opera, film, circus and architecture, and includes any medium when used for those purposes”.
All applicants must be:
- 18 years of age or older
- in a position to evidence their creative practice or career in the arts
- based in the Republic of Ireland
- tax compliant
The following list provides examples of the types of artists and creative arts workers who are eligible. This list is for illustrative purposes only and is not exhaustive.
| Art form | Profession/practice |
| Visual Arts | Visual Artist – all media including fine-art photography, Visual Arts Curator, Illustrator, Art Writer |
|---|---|
| Theatre | Actor, Artistic Director, Comedian, Costume Designer, Director, Hair Designer, Librettist, Lighting Designer/Engineer, Make-Up Designer, Mime artist, Set Designer, Stage Designer, Sound Designer/Engineer, Playwright, Projection Designer, Prop Designer, Puppeteer |
| Literature | Writer – Children’s/Young Adult, Novelist, Short-Story, Poet, Novelist, Illustrator, Art Writer, Non-Fiction writer* |
| Music | Composer, Conductor, Singer/Musician – all genres, Lighting Designer/Engineer, Lyricist, Sound Designer/Engineer, Musical Director, Writer |
| Dance | Artistic Director, Choreographer, Dancer, Repetiteur |
| Opera | Actor, Artistic Director, Costume Designer, Librettist, Lighting Designer/Engineer, Lyricist, Director, Singer, Sound Designer/Engineer, Stage Designer, Repetiteur |
| Film | Actor, Animator, Artistic Director, Cinematographer, Costume Designer Director, Editor, Screenwriter, Film Designer, Filmmaker, Film Editor, Lighting Designer/Engineer, Hair Designer, Make-up Designer, Prop Designer, Production Designer, Sound Designer/Engineer, Script Writer, Scenographer, Set Designer, Special Effects Designer, Scenic Artist, Visual Designer, Voice Over Artist, Writer |
| Circus | Circus Artist - traditional and contemporary, Acrobat, Street Arts and Spectacle Artist |
| Architecture | Architect |
-excludes for example journalism or books for educational purposes, for example: textbooks, technical manuals, writing created for advertising or publicity purposes.
- applicants who cannot demonstrate that they have a creative practice in an art-form or that their creative work makes a key contribution to the production, interpretation or exhibition of the arts
- full-time students or those who will be engaged in full-time study during the period October 2022 to October 2025. (Those who will complete training / graduate by October 2022 are welcome to apply)
- Aosdána members in receipt of the Cnuas
The following list provides examples of those who are ineligible for the BIA. This list is for illustrative purposes only and is not exhaustive. Please note that while the professions listed below cannot be used to evidence eligibility for the scheme, a person working in one of the ineligible areas who also has a separate creative practice in an eligible practice listed above can apply using evidence of their eligible creative practice.
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Administration (all art forms) | Agents, Arts Administrator, Arts Fundraiser, Arts Manager, Arts Marketer, Invigilator, Box Office Staff, Box Office Manager, Company Manager, Development Manager, Front of House Team, Gallery Manager, Marketing and PR Staff, Outreach Staff, Producer, Publicist, Promoter, Site Manager, Social Media Manager, Stage Door Staff, Theatre Manager, Venue Manager |
| Craft Makers | Basket Maker, Candle Maker, Furniture Maker, Metalsmith, Musical Instrument Maker, Jewellery Designer, Potter, Textile Maker, Wood Turner |
| Design | AR, VR & MR Designer, Fashion Designer, Industrial Designer, Interior Designer, Kitchen Designer, Landscape Designer, Website Designer, Pattern Cutter, Product Designer, Textile Designer, Type Setter |
| Education | Art Therapist, Creative Writing Teacher, Lecturer, Teacher |
| Film | Armourer, Assistant Stage Manager, Audio-Describer, Chaperone, Costume Supervisor, Costume Assistant, Directors Assistant, Dresser, Editorial Assistant, Film Crew, Film Critic, Fly Operator, Hair Dresser, Lighting Technician/Operator, Make-Up Artist, Production Assistant, Production Manager, Props Master, Pyrotechnics Assistant, Rigger, Runner, Set Builder, Set Dresser, Sound Technician/Operator, Stage Crew, Stage Manager, Wardrobe Supervisor, Wardrobe Assistant, Video Technician |
| Hospitality | Front of House Staff, Bar Staff |
| Journalism | Copy-Editor, Editor, Journalist, Photo-Journalist, Proof-Reader |
| Literature | Book Designer, Biographer, Copy-Editor, Editor, Literary Critic, Publicist, Proof-Reader, Translator |
| Music | A&R, Event Manager, Event Producer, Event Programmer, Festival Crew, Festival Programmer, Music Manager, Studio Manger, Talent Manger, Tour Manager, Venue Manager, Voice Coach |
| Photographers | Photography when not being used as a medium for fine art including Wedding Photographer, Photo-Journalist, Advertising Photographer |
| Technical | Electrician, Lighting Technician, Rigger, Runner, Set Builder; Set Dresser, Site Manager, Sound Technician, Stage Crew |
| Theatre | Armourer, Assistant Stage Manager, Audio-Describer, Box Office Manager, Costume Builder, Costume Supervisor, Costume Supervisor/Assistant, Dresser, Front of House Staff, Hair Dresser, Lighting Technician/Operator, Make-Up Artist, Props Master, Projection Technician, Set Builder, Set Dresser, Sound Technician/Operator, Stage Crew, Stage Manager, Theatre Manager, Wardrobe Supervisor, Wardrobe Assistant, Theatre Critic, Theatre Technician, Usher, Wig Dresser |
| Visual Arts | Archivist, Exhibitions Manager, Exhibitions Producer, Gallerist, Gallery Hanger, Gallery Manager, Gallery Staff, Invigilator, Studio Manager |
All applicants for the Basic Income for the Arts pilot will need an active email address.
Applicants are advised to fully submit their application well in advance of the deadline.
Grants to the value of €325 per week will be paid to successful participants.
Payments will be made on a monthly basis.
Tax and social welfare treatment of the payments
Please note:
- these payments will be reckonable for the purposes of income tax. All successful participants will need to register with Revenue as self-employed and pay Schedule D income tax, where appropriate, on the BIA grant payment
- income from the pilot will be liable for Class S PRSI
- the Department of Social Protection (DSP) will treat income from the scheme as income from self-employment for the purpose of its various means tests. This means that where a scheme includes a disregard of a certain amount of income from self-employment, that disregard will be applied to income from the basic income pilot. It should be noted that not all means-tested schemes include disregards for income from self-employment. The extent to which this income will have an impact on a person’s DSP payment will depend on the means test for that scheme and the person’s individual circumstances (in particular whether the person and/or their spouse/partner has other means)
- applicants are strongly advised to investigate what their own particular tax and social welfare situation may be should they receive payment
- those in receipt of a social welfare payment who receive payments from the pilot scheme should advise the Department of Social Protection of this change in their circumstances
- the Department of Social Protection has published a webpage to assist potential applicants to BIA with their concerns which can be found at the below link: Interaction of the Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme with DSP payments
- contact details are available for relevant sections under Heading 5. Potential applicants should contact the relevant section that they are getting their social welfare payment from
The department expects a high volume of applications and it will not be possible to provide funding to all eligible applicants.
Selection will be a non-competitive process. Once an applicant satisfies the eligibility criteria they will be included in an anonymised random sampling process to determine the pilot participants from the pool of eligible applicants for the BIA Pilot.
Funding for the scheme will allow for approximately 2,000 eligible applicants to participate in the pilot scheme.
The scheme will have two application streams as follows:
Stream 1: Practicing Artists and Creative Arts Workers. This covers all artists and creative arts workers who can demonstrate sufficient evidence of eligibility as set out below.
Stream 2: Recently trained applicants. This streams covers recently trained artists and creative arts workers who cannot yet demonstrate that they have engaged in a creative practice where their creative work makes a key contribution to the production, interpretation or exhibition of the arts. This stream is limited to those who have completed their training in the last 5 years or who will complete their training by October 2022.
Please note: As this is a research pilot, it is important to apply to the stream which best represents your practice currently.
Further information regarding Stream 2: This stream is intended to research the impact of a basic income on those who have completed a relevant training course, graduate degree or an arts related apprenticeship who have not yet have engaged in a creative practice. A maximum of 200 places are available under this stream.
Applicants under this stream must certify that they intend for their future work/career in the arts to meet definition of the arts as set out in the Arts Act 2003 i.e. a “creative or interpretative expression (whether traditional or contemporary) in whatever form, and includes, in particular, visual arts, theatre, literature, music, dance, opera, film, circus and architecture, and includes any medium when used for those purposes”.
Applicants under Stream 2 must supply supporting evidence of having trained in their chosen artform(s), for example by providing evidence of a qualification, apprenticeship or training.
Stream 1: Applicants will be asked to evidence their eligibility as an artist or creative arts worker by uploading two pieces of evidence. There are three categories by which applicants can demonstrate their eligibility, and applicants must be able to provide two pieces of evidence from any of the following three categories:
- Evidence of membership of a relevant resource or art form representative body. Please note this is not mandatory, and/or;
- Proof of income from your work as an artist or a creative arts worker (within the last 5 years), and/or;
- Proof of active engagement within your creative field/art form (within the last 5 years).
Evidence of membership of one of the following resource or representative bodies
(Please note this is not mandatory, you do not have to be a member of one of these organisations, see other ways to demonstrate your eligibility below.
You may only select ONE of these memberships as a proof of evidence and you must choose one other proof of eligibility from either the evidence of income or proof of engagement categories.
If you do not choose a membership of a representative organisation as one of your proofs you can select either:
one from each of the categories evidence of income and proof of engagement, or
two from one of the categories evidence of income and proof of engagement
- Actors Equity Ireland - (Professional Membership)
- CMC - Contemporary Music Centre (Associate / Full Representation)
- Dance Ireland – (Professional / Associate Membership)
- IMRO - Irish Music Rights Organisations (Writers Membership only)
- ISSSD - Irish Society of Stage and Screen Designers – (Professional Membership)
- Irish Writers Union (Full Membership)
- Irish Writers Centre (Professional Membership)
- MUI - Musicians’ Union of Ireland (Professional Membership)
- RAAP - Recorded Artists Actors Performers (Membership)
- Screen Composers Guild of Ireland (Membership)
- Screen Directors Guild of Ireland (AnimAL / Guild Membership)
- WGI – Writers’ Guild of Ireland (Full Membership)
- VAI - Visual Artists Ireland (Professional Membership)
Proof of income from your work as an artist or a creative arts worker in the last 5 years
Note: Applicants are NOT required to provide an item from this list. They may instead, provide two items from the Active Engagement list or one item from that list and a Proof of Membership from the list above. Alternatively, applicants may choose to provide two pieces of evidence from this, Proof of Income, list.
Evidence of:
- remuneration which demonstrates payment for your creative work, for example: invoice, Form 11, payslip accompanied by reference from employer as to the artistic nature of the work
- contract for service related to your creative work
- public funding for your creative practice, for example: Arts Council, Screen Ireland, Local Authority or other recognised arts organisation
- grant award from a recognised arts organisation based in Ireland or abroad
- received royalties for your work
- commissioned to make work
- sales of work
- existing Artists’ Tax Exemption (as of 5 April 2022);
-Applicants may submit a letter or email from the Arts Council or a screen-shot of their ARN page showing granted funding applications / grants
- received Artists’ Job Seekers Allowance
- other proof of income from your creative practice
Proof of active engagement within your art form/creative practice in the last 5 years
Note: Applicants are NOT required to provide an item from this list. They may instead, provide two items from the Proof of Income list or one item form that list and a Proof of Membership from that. Alternatively, applicants may choose to provide two pieces of evidence from this, Active Engagement, list.
Evidence of:
- have undertaken an artist’s residency (national or international)
- had work included in a published collection / curated exhibition / programmed event
- represented by a gallery or promoter or agent for your practice / creative arts work
- had work produced by a professional theatre / film / dance company
- produced or directed work for an established company or festival
- choreographed work performed in a recognised venue
- had work reviewed in printed / online press
- had work published by a recognised, established publisher, with an ISBN / released a single, ep or album
- credit for film or theatre work
- curated an exhibition / festival /arts event
- received or been shortlisted for an awards by a recognised arts organisation/local authority
- supported production of artistic work as a creative arts worker in a recognised space / venue
- professional references (on letter headed paper) for engagement / employment / work in your creative field
- a minimum of two unsuccessful grant applications from a recognised arts organisation
- have worked with local arts via support from Local Authority Arts Office, Creative Ireland coordinator or other community organisation such as local school, community centre, library, local arts group
- been employed as a Creative Arts Worker by a recognised arts organisation, festival, artistic company
- website / digital presence for artistic work / being an artist / creative arts worker or portfolio of work (upload sample or link)
- a relevant qualification or training in the arts
- relevant training/continuous professional development in the arts (not restricted to 5 years)
- current work in progress from the last 5 years
- expenditure on resources for creative practice, for example: rental of a studio space, purchase of equipment
- other relevant evidence of engagement with your creative practice
Please note: The department may seek further information in respect of the evidence you provide to determine eligibility.
Stream 2: Applicants under Stream 2 must supply supporting evidence of having been trained in their chosen artform(s); for example by providing evidence of a qualification or training.
Selected applicants (“recipients”) will be required to take part in the pilot research programme. Applicants should note the following:
- As this is a research pilot there is no guarantee that funding will continue after the pilot.
- An evaluation of the scheme will be conducted on an ongoing basis to determine the impact of the grant payment. This will require participants to collect and share data on a number of topics including, but not limited to, the following:
- details of and time spent on various activities including creative practice, working in the arts, work in other sectors, training, professional development, leisure time
- income earned from the arts and other sectors including household income
- demographic data, for example: age, gender, ethnicity, disability status, art form, geographic location
- wellbeing indicators
- Applicants should note that data collected will be anonymised in the evaluation of the scheme and data will be evaluated at an aggregate and not individual level.
- Participants will be asked to journal weekly to keep track of the data. A survey will be conducted at least twice per year and participants may also be invited to seminars, focus groups, to gather more qualitative data on the impact of the grant.
- Failure to comply with the data collection requirements may lead to the grant payment being withdrawn.
- Applicants should note that the reporting required of participants is to inform the pilot research aspect of the scheme. Payment will not be dependent on completion of work or tasks but on provision of this reporting.
- Please note: A number of eligible applicants who were not selected to receive the payment (“recipients”) will be selected to participate in a control group to facilitate the evaluation of the pilot (“control group”). Control Group participants will respond to the same survey and data requests as those in receipt of the payment to help assess the impact of the payment as compared with those not in receipt of the BIA. As part of the application process, applicants will be asked to indicate if they do not want to participate in the control group. Control group members will be paid two weeks basic income for each year of the pilot scheme to compensate them for the time required to engage in the data collection process.
The BIA scheme has now closed for applications.
Late applications will not be considered.
Draft applications will not be considered. Applicants must ensure that they have fully submitted their application before the deadline.
All applicants will need to have a valid, active email address in order to apply.
Only applications submitted through the Online Portal will be accepted.
[external-link [https://www.mindaclient.com/clientportal/index.php?g=df35eb0c-8055-11ec-9ea4-0cc47a828785] | Access the online portal. ]
Applicants may make only one application to participate. Making multiple applications will disqualify applicants from the scheme.
However, we can provide support with making your application.
- if you have a disability or other accessibility requirements and require assistance with your application, please contact us by email: basicincomeforthearts@tcagsm.gov.ie or, if required, via phone. A voicemail service will be available from Tuesday 12 April, when the application portal opens. Callers are invited to leave a message on the voicemail service and a member of the team will be in contact
- should you require assistance with your application, please contact us as early as possible in the application window to give us time to respond to you and assist with your application. We will tailor support to individual requests
All applicants should ensure that their application form is completed in full and submitted. Applicants may save a draft version of their application before they submit their final application form – but please note that drafts will not be considered. The onus is on the applicant to ensure their application has been submitted.
A confirmation email will issue detailing your application and your reference number once you have submitted your application in full.
Submission of false or misleading information to the department at any stage is treated very seriously and can lead to disqualification from the scheme.
The steps involved in the selection process will be as follows:
1. Once all applications to the scheme have been assessed, all eligible applicants will be included for possible selection in the randomised selection process both for the recipient group and the control group.
2. Eligible applications will be anonymised.
3. A randomiser software will be used to select participants at random.
4. The sample will be checked to ensure adequate representation.
For recipients of the Basic Income for the Arts, it may take some time for payments to begin. As the Basic Income for the Arts is a pilot research project, a number of steps need to be completed before payments can begin. Each of these steps will be impacted by the volume of applications. These include:
- All applications must be checked for eligibility, this may require the department to seek further information from some applicants;
- Once assessed for eligibility all applicants will be entered into a anonymised random sampling process to choose the scheme participants, both the Recipient and Control Groups;
- Eligible applicants who were not selected to receive the payment will be entered into an anonymised random sampling process to choose the “Control Group”;
- Participants in both the Recipient and Control Groups will need to sign a SLA (Service Level Agreement) with the department in order to accept the terms and conditions applying to participation on the BIA Pilot;
- Bank details and evidence of tax clearance will then be sought from participants and these will need to be set up as payees on the department’s payment system. Recipients must have an Irish or SEPA-reachable bank account (not Ulster Bank or KBC Bank as these accounts are due to close). SEPA-reachable bank account information
- A data baselining survey of all participants in both the Recipient and Control Groups will be conducted prior to payments starting to provide the starting point/baseline for the research.
The overarching objective of the scheme is to address the earnings instability that can be associated with the intermittent, periodic, and often project-based nature of work in the arts. The scheme will research the impact on artists and creative arts workers creative practice of providing the security of a basic income, thereby reducing income precarity.
The Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme will run over a 3-year period (2022 – 2025).
Its intention is to research the impact a basic income would have on artists and creatives work patterns by providing the opportunity to focus on their practice, and to minimise the loss of skills from the arts as a result of the pandemic and to contribute to the sectors gradual regrowth post pandemic.
The delivery of the pilot is a key priority for Minister Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, to underpin the recovery in the arts and culture sector and provide much needed certainty to the artists and creatives who choose to avail of the pilot scheme.
The pilot scheme was open to eligible artists and creative arts sector workers.
It is important to note that that the Basic Income for the Arts is not a Universal Basic Income.
This is a sectoral intervention to support practicing artists and creative arts workers to focus on their creative practice. This policy is separate to the Universal Basic income as outlined in the Programme for Government. The Programme for Government: Our Shared Future commits to the introduction of a universal basic income pilot in the lifetime of the government.
The aid being sought is provided under the European Commission Regulation on De Minimis Aid. Small amounts of State aid, up to 200,000 Euros in any three-year period to any one enterprise, are regarded as too small to significantly affect trade or competition in the common market. Such amounts are regarded as falling outside the category of State aid that is banned by the EC Treaty and can be awarded without notification to or clearance by the European Commission. A Member State is required to have a mechanism to track such aid (called 'De Minimis aid') and to ensure that the combined amount of De Minimis aid payments from all sources to one enterprise in any three-year period respects the 200,000 Euro ceiling.
Recipients will be asked to provide details of all other De Minimis aid which has been granted to them within the past three years. A false declaration by a recipient resulting in the threshold of 200,000 Euro being exceeded could later give rise to the aid being recovered with interest. BIA funding is De Minimis Aid and applicants will also be asked to acknowledge that the BIA payment is being offered under De Minimis Aid by declaring that they wish to apply for BIA under the De Minimis Regulation (EC) 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013.
Applying if you are in receipt of payments from the Department of Social Protection
Artists and creative arts workers in receipt of social welfare payments are welcome and eligible to apply. One of the research objectives of the scheme is to examine if a basic income style payment could reduce the reliance of the arts sector on social welfare payments during periods of unemployment.
The Department of Social Protection (DSP) will treat income from the basic income pilot scheme for artists as income from self-employment for the purpose of its various means tests. This means that where a scheme includes a disregard of a certain amount of income from self-employment, that disregard will be applied to income from the basic income pilot.
The impact on a person’s social welfare entitlements will depend on an individual’s own circumstances for example: household income, other sources of income.
Applicants who are selected to take part in the pilot are advised to engage with the Department of Social Protection to determine the impact on their social welfare payments if they were to receive the basic income for the arts before accepting an offer to participate.
People in receipt of a social welfare payment who receive payments from the pilot scheme should advise DSP of this change in their circumstances.
Whether people on Disability Allowance from the Department of Social Protection will lose their benefits
No not necessarily, the Department of Social Protection will treat the basic income as earnings from self-employment. The impact that income from the basic income pilot scheme will have on a person’s Disability Allowance payment will depend on each individual’s circumstances and they will need to engage with the Department of Social Protection on the matter.
Disability Allowance is a means-tested payment for people with a specified disability whose income falls below certain limits and who are aged between 16 and are under 66.
A person in receipt of Disability Allowance can take up employment or self-employment. The first €140 of weekly income from that employment (after deduction of PRSI, pension contributions and union dues) is disregarded for the purpose of the means test.
50% of their weekly earnings between €140 and €350 is then disregarded for the purpose of the means test. Any further earnings, over €350 per week, are fully assessed for the purpose of the means test.
In addition to satisfying the means test, in order to qualify for Disability Allowance a person must:
- have an injury, disease or physical or mental disability that has continued, or may be expected to continue, for at least one year, and
- be substantially restricted from doing work that would otherwise be suitable for a person of their your age, experience and qualifications
Whether people will lose their invalidity pension if they get the basic income for the arts
Invalidity Pension is a weekly payment to people who cannot work because of a long-term illness or disability and are covered by social insurance (PRSI).
The payment is not means tested so income from the basic income pilot scheme would not have an impact on a person’s personal rate of payment.
However, to qualify for invalidity pension a person must:
- have been incapable of work for at least 12 months and be likely to be incapable of work for at least another 12 months (they may have been getting Illness Benefit or Disability Allowance during that time), or
- be permanently incapable of work (in certain cases of very serious illness or disability, a person can transfer directly from another social welfare payment or from their job to Invalidity Pension)
and
- satisfy the relevant PRSI contribution conditions
Can people on Carers Allowance apply and will they lose their carers allowance payment from the Department of Social Protection
People in receipt of Carer’s Allowance can apply for the scheme. The Department of Social Protection will treat the basic income as earnings from self-employment. So for schemes such as Carers Allowance which have income disregards the income will be taken into account in the scheme income disregard.
The means test for the Carer's Allowance involves assessing the income coming into a household. For a single person €332.50 of their gross weekly income is not taken into account (or disregarded). If a person is married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting the first €665 of the combined gross weekly income is disregarded. (Please note PRSI, union dues, superannuation (pension contributions) are also deducted from your gross income).
In addition, to the means test, one of the qualifying conditions for receipt of Carer’s Allowance is that the person is not working, self-employed, or on a training or education course for more than 18.5 hours a week.
Whether people in receipt of the Blind Pension will lose their social welfare payment if they get the basic income for the arts
Blind Pension is a means-tested payment paid to blind and visually impaired people who are habitually resident in Ireland. The maximum personal rate is €208 per week.
A person in receipt of Blind Pension can take up employment or self-employment. The first €140 of weekly income from that employment (after deduction of PRSI, pension contributions and union dues) is disregarded for the purpose of the means test. 50% of their weekly earnings between €140 and €350 is then disregarded for the purpose of the means test.
Any further earnings, over €350 per week, are fully assessed for the purpose of the means test.
As income from the basic income pilot scheme for artists will be treated as income from self-employment the disregard will be applied.
The information provided in this document is intended to give applicants an understanding of the process by which applications for to the Basic Income for the Arts pilot are received and assessed and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.
Freedom of Information Act 2014
Applicants should be aware that, under the Freedom of Information Act 2014 and the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007 to 2014, information provided by them during the application process and subsequent processes relating to their application may be liable to be disclosed.
For data protection in relation to the department, please see information at the following link: Data Protection Policy
The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media shall not be liable to the applicant or any other party for any loss, damage or costs of any nature resulting directly or indirectly from the application or its subject matter or the department’s rejection of the application for any reason.
The department, its servants or its agents shall not at any time in any circumstances be held responsible or liable for any matter connected with developing, planning, financing, building, operating, managing and/or administering individual projects or any matter connected with the part payment by the department of invoices submitted by grantees.
The department reserves the right to request further information from you in order to verify details in your application. In this regard, the department may undertake spot-checks.