Ex Plaid leader praises Ireland's basic income support for arts

Amelia Jones

Former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has praised Ireland's decision to make its basic income scheme for artists and creative workers permanent.

The scheme provides a guaranteed weekly income to help alleviate financial insecurity security, and  aims to enable creatives to focus on their practice without suffering the constant pressure of unstable earnings.

Launched as a pilot in 2022, the programme offered around 2,000 artists €325 a week (roughly £283).

Early evaluations found it boosted not only their wellbeing but also their creative output, helping artists stay in their field rather than leaving due to financial strain.

A public consultation showed overwhelming support for making the scheme permanent, leading the Irish government to commit to enforcing it fully from 2026.

Wood reacted to the announcement on Facebook, writing: "Brilliant Ireland. The arts deserve public backing. Art helps society."

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Following Leanne's praise of the scheme, one commenter wrote: "We need to raise the profile of this, it’s an important debate for the future, it’s not free money, it funds an industry, if we were under one roof employing this many people, government would be chucking money at us."

Another added: "As AI expands, ‘work’ and ‘jobs’ lose their role in allocating income. Ubi seems an inevitable future for us all."

In Wales and across the UK, however, artists have shared their 'challenging' experiences of securing short-term and project-based funding, making it difficult to plan for the future or focus fully on their work.

According to the Musicians' Union Wales, funding cuts from arts councils have led to a reduction of around £3 million in annual funding, representing a 50% fall in the real terms value of public subsidy since 2025.

In the view of supporters, the Basic Income for the arts programme in Ireland represents a shift toward more sustained support for artists, which many hope will be emulated here in Wales.