Petition Introduce a Basic Income for the Arts scheme in Wales, modelled on Ireland’s successful initiative.
Ireland has launched a landmark Basic Income for the Arts pilot providing €325 per week to 2,000 artists and cultural workers. The scheme has reduced financial anxiety, increased creative productivity, and strengthened Ireland’s cultural economy.
Wales can lead the UK by introducing a similar initiative.
We urge the Welsh Government to:
• Commission a feasibility study to explore a Welsh version of Ireland’s programme.
• Design a 3-year pilot offering a regular basic income to at least 1,000 Welsh creatives.
• Fund and evaluate the pilot through Creative Wales, in collaboration with the Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh Government’s Basic Income Evaluation Team.
More details
This initiative would build upon Wales’s successful Basic Income Pilot for Care Leavers (2022–2024) and align with the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, which commits the government to sustainable cultural and economic wellbeing.
Supporting artists is not charity — it’s infrastructure.
A secure creative class drives innovation, tourism, wellbeing, and national identity.
At 250 signatures...
All petitions with more than 250 signatures will be discussed by the Petitions Committee
At 10,000 signatures...
Petitions with more than 10,000 signatures will be considered for a debate in the Senedd