Basic Income for the Arts Scheme 2026-2029 Guidelines for Application

- The scheme is for professional practicing artists only

- Applicants must be based in the Republic of Ireland at time of application

- Funding for 2,000 applicants is available, it is expected that the number of eligible applicants will exceed that number, therefore eligibility does not confer an entitlement to receive the payment

- Applicants will be required to prove that their artistic practice is largely based in Ireland

- Applicants will need to provide three approved proofs of their professional artistic practice in order to demonstrate eligibility

- Annual audits will take place to reconfirm eligibility

- The names of successful applicants will be published which is common practice for the receipt of State funding

- Successful applicants will need to be tax cleared by Revenue and must register as self-employed if they are not already and provide an annual Revenue Form 11 to ensure tax compliance

- Successful applicants will be required to remain primarily based in the Republic of Ireland for the duration of the scheme

Scheme Objectives

The Artist

• To incentivise the development and growth of professional creative practice through self-employment;
• To counter the earnings instability and precarious nature of working in the arts, and the detrimental effect it has on artists’ mental health;
• To foster artists’ agency and safeguard freedom of expression.

The Sector

• To retain talent in the sector by reducing the need for artists to work outside of the arts for economic reasons;
• To support and expand the sector thanks to spillover effects e.g. hiring of collaborators, expenditure on materials, emergence of new projects etc.

Society and the Public

• To support social cohesion and societal wellbeing by creating more opportunities for citizens to engage in the arts, and to offer a larger selection of artworks and performances to enjoy;
• To recognise the contribution of artists to a pluralistic society, and their contribution to the vibrancy of communities across the nation.

The Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) is only for Professional Artists who can demonstrate an active creative practice and whose practice is predominantly based in Ireland. Eligibility criteria are set out below.

Before applying, you should be aware that:

A. Applications and Proofs of Eligibility may may be shared with Irish Arts Resource Organisations for the 2026 - 2029 scheme to ensure that only Professional Artists with an Active Creative Practice are selected to receive the payment

B. The scheme has limited funding so not all eligible applicants will be selected to receive the payment

C. Proofs of Eligibility submitted with an application may be verified with the relevant organisation; therefore, the applicant’s identity may be shared with any organisation from which a proof is provided

D. Participants of the BIA Pilot are welcome to apply. To be eligible for the 2026 – 2029 scheme, they must be able to prove their eligibility for this scheme specifically and, as per B above, not all eligible applicants will be selected for the payment.

- Artists with a professional artistic practice who are

- Based in the Republic of Ireland at time of application and can

- Evidence their creative practice is primarily based in Ireland.

- Recently Graduated Applicants (see specific detail below)

- Applicants who cannot demonstrate that they have an active professional artistic practice, (i.e. amateur or aspiring artists)

- Aosdána members in receipt of the Cnuas payment

- Artists not based in the Republic of Ireland at the time of application and for the duration of the payment

- Artists whose practice is not primarily based in Ireland

- Those in full-time education: full-time students or those who will be engaged in full-time study during the period October 2026 to end-2029 (those who graduate by 1st April 2026 are welcome to apply)

This stream covers artists who have recently graduated but cannot yet demonstrate that they have a professional career. This stream is limited to those who have completed their training and graduated in 2024 or 2025. A maximum of 100 places is available under this stream.

Applicants under this stream must certify that they intend to have a professional practice for their future career. Recently Graduated Applicants are required to ONLY supply supporting evidence of having graduated with a third level qualification (level 8 or above only) for a relevant, practice-based course, from a relevant institution.

Applicants should be aware that the Basic Income for the Arts is underpinned by a research programme. Therefore, recipients will be required to engage in ongoing data collection. This data will be used to continuously evaluate the scheme, in line with Government guidelines on evidence-based policymaking.

As part of the application, all applicants are required to complete a survey, and the completion of similar surveys will be a condition of participation on the scheme for those selected. Applicants who do not fill out the survey at application stage will be considered ineligible.

Please read the guidelines carefully regarding the data collection requirements and continuous auditing that will be required.

Application Process Audit

When applying for the scheme, applicants are required to upload evidence of an active professional artistic practice. Funding is not available for those who are not professional artists. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they are professional artists whose creative practice is active and primarily based in Ireland.

- The use of AI for the purposes of filling out the application form or the generation of any proofs of practice is not permitted. Evidence of the use of AI will result in the application being deemed ineligible.

- The Department reserves the right to contact any organisation/body/entity/company or individual that is cited as a proof for application purposes. If any proofs are found to be invalid the entire application will be deemed ineligible.

- Successful applicants will have to reconfirm eligibility and evidence of a professional creative practice on an annual basis, failure to do so will result in removal from the scheme and may result in a requirement to repay any BIA payments received.

- Applications and Proofs of Eligibility may may be shared with Irish Arts Resource Organisations for the 2026 - 2029 scheme to ensure that only Professional Artists with an Active Creative Practice are selected to receive the payment

The scheme is open to those with an active professional arts practice primarily based in Ireland.

All applicants must:

• have an active arts practice
• be 18 years of age or older (no upper age limit)
• be able to provide evidence of their career in the arts
• be primarily based in the Republic of Ireland at time of application and for the duration of the payment
• be tax compliant
• complete surveys to provide data to the research element
• agree to comply with the verification and annual re verification processes if selected to be a recipient of the payment.

All applicants must have:

• at least two proofs of eligibility from activity in the Republic of Ireland to prove that their practice is primarily based here
• three proofs of eligibility in total
• an operational email address which will remain in place for at least 3 years
• an operational SEPA reachable bank account which can receive payment
• an operational phone number they can be contacted on

Before an applicant is fully offered a place on the scheme there will be a pre-payment evidence check:

• Verification checks on the eligibility proof documentation submitted by selected applicants will be run

What should an applicant do now (ahead of the window for applications opening)

Submitting an application will consist of five parts. All of these need to be completed for your application to be considered:

1. Register on the Portal when it opens on 15 April 2026
2. Complete all Application Form information
3. Upload proofs / evidence of eligibility for the scheme (see detail below)
4. Complete survey on aspects of practice / life including financial and time-use information (see detail below)
5. Consent to the Terms and Conditions of Application

We expect a large volume of applications, and applications which are not complete or not fully submitted will not be considered. It will be possible to save and return to the application form and survey.

We strongly advise all applicants to begin gathering proofs of eligibility and information which will support the completion of their survey now, before the application window opens.

Details of proofs of eligibility that you should gather now are listed below.

An example of the type of questions asked in the survey is available here: Sample Application Survey

Applicants should read through and prepare to answer survey questions now, ahead of the application window. This should mean that an applicant can complete the survey more quickly.

If you have all your information to hand, the application process should take you 45 – 90 minutes. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Recently Graduated Applicants

Recently Graduated Applicants (RGAs) are required to supply one piece of supporting evidence only. There is a separate page / tab on the application form which they will use to do this, it is clearly marked. The evidence must be:

• from a relevant institution showing that you
• graduated in 2024 or 2025 with a
• third level qualification (level 8 or above only) for a relevant, practice-based course

All other applicants are required to upload evidence of their active creative practice as set out below. They will select and upload this under the standard tab on the Application form.

Applicants must be able to provide three pieces of evidence / proofs; at least two from an Irish organisation, grant body or representative body. Please note that by providing proofs, the Department may consult with the relevant organisation / body / entity to confirm the documentation provided is accurate and valid. Any incorrect information will result in your application being deemed ineligible.

List of Proofs / Evidences which will be accepted

• Evidences of practice in the categories of income, active practice and membership of a representative organisation are included– see full list below
• You must upload any three, applicants who provide fewer than three proofs will be considered ineligible
• At least two items must be from Irish organisations, funder etc. to evidence an active practice based in Ireland.
• Multiple items under categories where you may have more than one award / commission / publication / event can be accepted, up to 3 total proofs. E.g. if you have 3 x Arts Council Bursaries or Project Awards from the last 3 years, proofs of these are all that you will need to upload

You are advised to:

• Gather your proofs now, in advance of the application window
• Gather proofs in the order listed below for ease of application

Please note: The department may seek further information in respect of the evidence you provide to determine eligibility.

An evaluation of the scheme will be conducted on an ongoing basis to determine the impact of the grant payment, and to research the health of the arts sector in Ireland.

In order to collect baseline information from the sector, every applicant to the BIA scheme is required to complete a survey regarding their circumstances and practice. This is similar to the survey which was being completed by the Pilot participants.

There are up to 70 questions on the survey which will cover topics such as demographic information, personal income, wellbeing, weekly time use, and work in the arts including:

• details of and time spent on various activities including creative practice, working in the arts, work in other sectors, training, professional development, leisure time
• individual income earned from the arts and other sectors
• working conditions in the arts sector
• demographic data, for example: age, gender, ethnicity, disability status, art form, geographic location
• wellbeing

An example of the type of questions asked in the survey is available here: Sample Application Survey

Applicants should read through and prepare to answer survey questions now, ahead of the application window. They are also advised to have information on hand about their individual earnings. This should be done now, ahead of the application window and should mean that an applicant can complete these parts of the survey more quickly.

The Department will be unable to consider any incomplete applications or applications received after the deadline.

The department expects a high volume of applications, well in excess of the number of artists it can fund and therefore, it will not be possible to provide funding to all eligible applicants.

Selection will be via an anonymised random sampling process. This will be used to determine the recipients from the pool of eligible applicants for the scheme.

Currently, funding for the scheme will allow for 2,000 eligible applicants to participate in the scheme at a rate of €325 per week with payment beginning in Q4 2026.

• Recipients of the Pilot may apply for this scheme, if they can demonstrate that they meet the eligibility criteria of the 2026 – 2029 scheme. Eligibility for the pilot does not automatically mean an artist is eligible for future rounds of the scheme.
• In the context of being unable to fund all eligible applicants, recipients will receive the payment for 3 years i.e. from 2026 to 2029. Those selected for the 2026 – 2029 BIA will not be eligible for the next round of funding, i.e. an artist can only receive BIA for 3 years out of any 6 year cycle. Therefore, artists in receipt of the BIA on the 2026 – 2029 scheme cannot apply for the 2030 – 2033 round but, could apply for the 2034 – 2037 round. This is to allow as many artists as possible to avail of the scheme.

Basic Income for the Arts Scheme: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/publications/basic-income-for-the-arts-scheme-2026-2029-faq/

Details

The application portal will open at 1pm on Wednesday 15th April.

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 12th May 2026 at 5pm.

Late or incomplete 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.

Access the online portal. [THIS LINK WILL BE SHARED ON 15th APRIL WHEN LIVE]

Applicants may make only one application to participate and provide their PPSN. Making multiple applications will disqualify applicants from the scheme.

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 full 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.

Scheme contacts

Email: basicincomeforthearts@ccs.gov.ie

The application portal will open at 1pm on Wednesday 15th April 2026

The deadline for application is 5pm on Tuesday 12th May 2026

Please note: The application portal will close at that time and applications which are not fully submitted (including completion of survey and upload of supporting documentation) ahead of that time WILL NOT BE considered.

The Basic Income for the Arts team may contact applicants where clarification or further information is needed after the deadline, but only for applications which were received by the deadline.

If you have a disability or other accessibility requirements and require assistance with your application, please contact us by email: basicincomeforthearts@ccs.gov.ie or, if required, via the phone voicemail service on 01 643 7714. The voicemail service will be operated from Wednesday 15th 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 to give us time to respond to you and assist with your application. We will tailor support to individual requests.

If you will need someone to complete your forms with you over the phone, please contact us as soon as possible and preferably ahead of the application window opening so that we can book a time in with a team member for this assistance once the application window is open.

The voicemail service will be operated with priority given to those who will be unable to complete their application without our assistance or those with other accessibility needs. Please correspond with us via email if this does not apply to you.

Those selected to receive the payment should be aware that:

A. Names of the recipients will be published

B. Audits to verify continued eligibility for the payment will be undertaken annually (see details below). Those unable to provide evidence of continued eligibility will be removed from the scheme and replaced with another eligible applicant. If removed, you may be required to repay any funding received.

C. Once selected, recipients that the Department is repeatedly unable to make contact with (e.g. inactive or full email account etc.) will be removed from the scheme and replaced with another eligible applicant

D. Those selected for the payment in the 2026 – 2029 round will not be eligible to be selected in the following round (e.g. 2030 – 2033) but are welcome to apply for the round following this (2034 – 2037). This includes those in points B and C above.

The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport expects recipients of the payment to have an active creative practice predominantly based in the Republic of Ireland for the duration of the scheme. There are several requirements of recipients of the payment, set out further below.

Audits of Survey Answers

Selected applicants who receive the BIA will be subject to audits and must be in a position to provide evidence to support information provided as part of the annual survey e.g. where a recipient states that they have exhibited, recorded music, been awarded grant funding, undertaken an artist residency, written a chapter, given a workshop etc., they will need to be in a position to provide evidence of same. Failure to do so will result in removal from the scheme and may result in a requirement to repay any BIA payments received.

If not already in place, those selected for the payment must:

• register with ROS (Revenue Online Services) to become self-employed upon selection for the scheme
• obtain a ROS screenshot for set up of their bank account upon selection for the scheme (instruction on how to do this will be provided to those selected)
• provide a Form 11 annually (from 2027 on) to evidence their filing of a tax return, reflecting receipt of Basic Income for the Arts payment and any other income etc.
• consent to their PPS number being shared with Revenue and submitted on the EU State Aid register for Ireland annually if required
• There will be an annual audit of recipients in which they will need to submit evidence of the data submitted as part of their survey

Compliance with eligibility will be continuously recorded and assessed throughout the time a recipient receives the payment.

Research:

The data collected through surveys will be anonymised in the evaluation of the scheme. Data will be evaluated at an aggregate and not individual level: This means that researchers are not focusing on the changes in individuals’ circumstances, but on the broader changes within the arts sector. The survey data shared with researchers does not include people’s names or PPSN.

A mandatory survey will be conducted at least once per year and participants may also be invited to seminars, focus groups, or individual interviews to gather qualitative data on the impact of the grant. Participants will also be alerted to relevant research projects taking place in universities and research institutions.

Failure to complete the mandatory surveys will lead to the grant payment being withdrawn / being removed from the scheme

Applicants should note that the reporting required of participants is to inform the research aspect of the scheme.

State Aid:

The name and/or PPS Number of those in receipt of the payment will be shared with Revenue and published to the EU State Aid register, which is publicly available. This is a new EU requirement as of 1 January 2026 for all State Aid provided across the EU.

Validation of Proofs:

Applications and Proofs of Eligibility may be shared with Irish Arts Resource Organisations for the 2026 - 2029 scheme to ensure that only Professional Artists with an Active Creative Practice are selected to receive the payment.

Operations:

The BIA Operations team will have access to all data submitted by applicants. This includes a person’s full application, survey data, and personal information needed to process payments such as bank account number, PPSN and information on tax compliance. The Operations team also has access to applicants’ contact details such as email addresses etc.

The Operations team will conduct audits including information shared in the surveys.

Personal data will be sought from you in order to make an application for BIA including information on Ethnicity, Disability status, Gender and Age, in order to ensure a representative sample of participants. These types of personal data are listed under Article 9 of the GDPR as “special categories” of personal data. For further information, please visit the website of the Data Protection Commissioner here. The Department will request each applicant’s consent to process their Personal and Special Category (Ethnicity, Disability, Gender, Age) Personal Data for the reasons outlined above. The Department will request each applicant’s consent to process their Personal and Special Category (Ethnicity, Disability, Gender, Age) Personal Data for the reasons outlined above.

Privacy Statement:

This Department is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and employs appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information from unauthorised access. The Department will not process your personal data for any purpose other than that for which they were collected. Personal data may be exchanged with other Government Departments, local authorities, agencies under the aegis of the Department, or other public bodies, in certain circumstances where this is provided for by law. The Department will only retain your personal data for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which they were collected and subsequently processed. When the business need to retain this information has expired, it will be examined with a view to destroying the personal data as soon as possible, and in line with Department policy.

Data will be retained for research purposes indefinitely for research purposes in line with Article 89 GDPR - GDPRhub. The data collected through surveys will be anonymised. Data will be evaluated at an aggregate and not individual level. The survey data shared with researchers does not include people’s names or PPSN.

The Department’s Privacy Statement in relation to individual suppliers, payees and grantees can be found on our website at: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/organisation-information/individual-suppliers-payees-grantees/

Further information on Data Protection can be found on our website at: https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/5c605-data-protection/

Pre- payment:

• Documentation of proof / evidence of practice of all selected applicants will be checked
• Verification checks will be run to confirm the veracity of submitted documentation

Post-payment:

• Annual re-confirmation of eligibility parameters by all recipients
• Submission of Form 11 annually (from 2027 on) to evidence recipients’:
  • registration as self-employed and payment of Class S PRSI
  • filing of tax return reflecting receipt of the payment and any other arts income etc.

There will be an annual audit for recipients in which they will need to submit evidence of the data submitted as part of their survey

Grants of €325 per week will be paid to recipients. Payments will be made monthly at a rate of €1,413.21. Payment to recipients will begin by the end of the year and will be backdated to September 2026.

Tax Clearance

A person who is not tax cleared cannot receive a payment from the Department.

8 weeks’ grace (2 payments) will be given to allow the recipient time to organise tax clearance, after which a recipient must:

or

At 6 months without Tax Clearance the recipient will be removed from the scheme and no further or backdated payments will be made.

Tax and social welfare treatment of the payments

BIA payments are 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 Basic Income for the Arts 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 Basic Income for the Arts. 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 in advance what their own particular tax and social welfare situation may be should they receive payment. Any questions on specific circumstances are best answered by Revenue (for tax) and Department of Social Protection (for social welfare interactions). Applicants should contact them directly as the BIA team has no information on specifics in relation to this.

Those in receipt of a social welfare payment who receive payments from the Basic Income for the Arts scheme will need to 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 the BIA with their concerns which can be found at the below link: Interaction of the payment 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.

For recipients of the Basic Income for the Arts, it may take some time for payments to begin. Several steps need to be completed before payments can begin. Participants will need to sign an Agreement with the department to accept the terms and conditions applying to participation on the Basic Income for the Arts.

1. Bank details, ROS screenshot and evidence of tax clearance will be sought from participants to be set up as payees on the department’s payment system. Recipients must have an Irish or SEPA-reachable bank account.
2. Along with this, verification of proofs of eligibility will be sought and, if not verified, the application will no longer be eligible. Please note that this may disclose to the Arts Council, your membership organisation, your previous arts employer etc. that you are a likely recipient of the payment.

- Appeals can be made on the process only

- Failure to upload sufficient evidence of eligible practice at time of applying is NOT grounds for appeal.

WHO CAN MAKE AN APPEAL

· An appeal may be made by an applicant if the applicant considers that the process for reviewing their application was not adhered to.

· The applicant must be in receipt of a decision email from the Basic Income for the Arts team in order to make an appeal.

HOW TO APPEAL

An appeal must be made within 5 working days of the date on the decision email.

It is necessary to clearly set out the grounds for your appeal (see points above) in an email which should be sent to the BIA Appeals Officer at BIAAppeals@ccs.gov.ie stating “Appeal” along with your application number in the subject line of the email.

WHAT THE APPEAL SHOULD CONTAIN

• full contact details for the applicant and application number

• the grounds on which the applicant believes the process for reviewing their application was not adhered to.

• The applicant must include specific reasons or evidence to support the appeal.

APPEAL REVIEW PROCESS

The applicant will receive an acknowledgement email from the BIA Team within 5 working days of receipt of the appeal request.

The appeal will then be considered and a decision will issue to the applicant within 20 working days following the acknowledgement.

This decision will be binding and will not be subject to any further appeals.

Where any delay is anticipated the applicant will be informed in writing of the extended timescale.

Applicants should note that the name and PPS Number of those in receipt of the payment will be shared with Revenue and published to the EU State Aid register, which is publicly available. This is a new EU requirement as of 1 January 2026.

BIA is provided under the European Commission Regulation on De Minimis Aid. A Member State is required to have a mechanism to track such aid and to ensure that the combined amount of De Minimis aid payments from all sources to one undertaking in any three-year rolling period respects the 300,000 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 300,000 Euro being exceeded could later give rise to the aid being recovered with interest. applicants will 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) 2023/2831 of 13 December 2023 amending Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1407/2013.

Artists in receipt of social welfare payments (including those on Disability Allowance/Incapacity Benefit etc.) are welcome and eligible to apply.

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 for the Arts scheme.

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 receive the payment are advised to engage with the Department of Social Protection to determine the impact on their social welfare payments if they were to receive payment before accepting an offer to participate.

People in receipt of a social welfare payment who receive payments from the scheme should advise DSP of this change in their circumstances.

Will people on Disability Allowance from the Department of Social Protection lose their benefits?

No not necessarily, the Department of Social Protection will treat the payment as earnings from self-employment. The impact that this payment 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 66.

A person in receipt of Disability Allowance can take up employment or self-employment. The first €165 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 weekly earnings between €165 and €375 is then disregarded for the purpose of the means test. Any further earnings, over €375 per week, are fully assessed for the purpose of the means test.

In addition to satisfying the means test, 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 age, experience and qualifications

Will people lose their invalidity pension if they get the Basic Income for the Arts payment?

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 Basic Income for the Arts 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 income as earnings from self-employment. So, for schemes such as Carers Allowance which have income disregards the income will be considered 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 €625 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 €1250 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.

Can people in receipt of the Blind Pension will lose their social welfare payment if they get the BIA payment?

Blind Pension is a means-tested payment paid to blind and vision 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 €165 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 €165 and €375 is then disregarded for the purpose of the means test.

Any further earnings, over €375 per week, are fully assessed for the purpose of the means test.

As income from the scheme 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 Basic Income for the Arts are received and assessed and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.

Further information may be requested

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.

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.

https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/organisation-information/freedom-of-information-foi/

Data protection

For data protection in relation to the department, please see information at the following link: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/organisation-information/data-protection/

SME Test

The Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) test for the BIA is available here BIA SME Test

Disclaimer

The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport 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.