Basic Income in Ireland: The Development of Two Pilots
| Author | Helen Johnston |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/13882627221109287 |
| Published date | 01 September 2022 |
| Date | 01 September 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Basic Income in Ireland: The
Development of Two Pilots
Helen Johnston
National Economic and Social Council, Ireland
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of Irish dalliances with basic income over the last 40 years in the
context of social security reform. A government Green Paper on Basic Income was published in
2002, but the proposals were never progressed. Now, the current 2020 Programme for
Government contains a commitment to pilot basic income within the lifetime of the
Government. It has transpired that two basic income schemes are being developed –a universal
basic income scheme by the Government’s Low Pay Commission and a sectoral basic income
scheme for artists. The arts proposal is being led by the Green Party Minister for the Arts, a
long-time advocate of basic income. The work of the Low Pay Commission is overseen by the
Fine Gael leader and Minister for Employment, who has not traditionally supported basic income.
Public discourse claims that these are separate proposals with a lack of clarity on whether they will
be progressed separately, one will inform the other, or they will become integrated. The work in
Ireland has drawn upon other basic income experiments taking place in Europe, especially the
Finnish experience. The work to date can make a unique contribution to understanding basic
income experimentation in Europe, especially through a government-led, twin-track approach.
Keywords
Basic income schemes for artists, government commitments on basic income, political support for
basic income, social welfare reform, universal basic income pilots
Introduction
Although Ireland has not yet had a basic income pilot, it is currently planning to initiate one or two
in 2022. A prescient Basic Income Green Paper was published in 2002, but the further development
of basic income in Ireland was not seriously considered by the Government until recently when the
Corresponding author:
Helen Johnston, National Economic and Social Council, 16 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, Dublin D01 E7C1, Ireland.
E-mail: hjohnston99@gmail.com
Article
European Journal of Social Security
2022, Vol. 24(3) 243–256
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/13882627221109287
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