Basic Income for artists

Irish artists of every kind - performers, writers, sculptors, musicians, the lot - are nervously waiting to hear if they will be among the 2000 people to be allocated a Basic Income for three years.

The Irish Government has announced this pilot program for artists impacted by the pandemic – billed as a New Deal, and a once in a lifetime policy intervention. 

Could we, and would we, do it in Australia? Or is Ireland, where culture is so embedded in identity, a unique case.