Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
THE NEXT GOVERNMENT has committed to trialing Universal Basic Income (UBI) in Ireland at some stage over the next five years, according to the programme for government published yesterday.
The idea behind UBI is to give adults an automatic payment from the State that isn’t means tested and is given regardless of whether you have a job or not, as an alternative to in-work tax credits and core social welfare payments.
A lobby group in favour of the move towards UBI welcomed the measure in the programme for government and said that the Covid-19 pandemic has shown the need for “bold, innovative thinking” to support all members of soceity.
The programme for government agreed between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party details a long list of actions over 126 pages that the next government aims to implement.
Under a heading of “anti-poverty and social inclusion measures” on page 75, the document says: “[We will] request the Low Pay Commission to examine Universal Basic Income, informed by a review of previous international pilots, and resulting in a universal basic income pilot in the lifetime of the government.”
If the next government follows through on this commitment to trial UBI, Ireland will join a number of other countries such as Finland, Canada, India and parts of the US in looking at the measure.
The idea wasn’t mentioned in the Fine Gael manifesto, Fianna Fáil said the idea should be “explored” in its manifesto while the Greens said it would trial the measure in a similar way to how it had been trialled in other countries.
The Green Party said that a system of UBI “represents a significant realignment of our current economic commitments” and it proposed to “move towards a system of UBI through gradual reform of the tax and welfare system”.
Advertisement
What is UBI?
In its manifesto, the Greens describe the underlying idea of introducing UBI.
It said: “UBI operates as a standard payment to every individual that is resident in the State without reference to their means or their ability/ availability for employment. It is non-means tested and does not increase or decrease as someone’s income changes.”
Supporters of the system say that it improves the well-being of citizens and empowers people economically so that their choices when it comes to work aren’t solely driven by financial need.
However, those who argue against it say that it’s not a sustainable model for boosting employment levels or encouraging those who aren’t working to seek employment.
A recent trial in Finland saw the government guarantee a basic income of €560 a month to a randomly-selected group of people who were unemployed.
Research published on the trial earlier this month said that while it created happier citizens, it failed to markedly increase employment levels.
The “small” effect on work suggested that for some benefit recipients, “the problems related to finding employment are not related to bureaucracy or to financial incentives,” Kari Hamalainen of Finland’s VATT Institute for Economic Research said in a statement.
Although the Finnish study did not produce the hoped-for job market stimulus, participants ”were more satisfied with their lives and experienced less mental strain, depression, sadness and loneliness,” researchers said.
The guaranteed monthly payment also led to participants becoming more trusting of others and in the institutions of society.
Although the widest such study to be conducted in recent years in Europe, the Finnish trial was limited to participants who were already unemployed.
Proponents of a true “universal income” call for a monthly payment, sometimes described as a citizens’ wage, to be given to everyone regardless of their wealth, family or work situation.
Related Reads
Éamon Ó Cuív and Saoirse McHugh say they won't back programme for government
Pandemic set to cause major shortfall in housing supply, warns new study
McDonald accuses FG and FF of 'clinging to each other' to stay in power
The mass unemployment seen in many countries due to the Covid-19 pandemic has heightened calls to look at alternate means of supporting citizens during the crisis and into the future.
In Spain, the government said in April it would look to speed up its plans at introducing a UBI to help support those dealing with the economic fallout of Covid-19.
Top-selling daily newspaper El Pais, citing unnamed government sources, said the plan was to introduce a monthly basic income payment of €440 in a country where the minimum wage stands at €950 a month.
Similar to the programme for government here, the coalition deal reached between Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists and leftist party Podemos called for the creation of a universal basic income but did not set a timeframe for the adoption of the measure.
Basic Income Ireland, a campaign group which supports the move here, welcomed the provision of a trial of UBI under the next programme for government.
Bobby Lambert, joint coordinator at Basic Income Ireland, said: “Following the pandemic and as we look ahead, the case for it to act as a platform for success for Irish entrepreneurs, farmers, artists and citizens has never been stronger.
“We’re looking forward to the implementation of the trial programme, which will support the development of a more sustainable and resilient society.”
With reporting from AFP
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
107 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Why not get the ECB to print the money and give it to the Irish Govt to kick start the economy. Create new projects all over the country and the money should filter down to everyone in the economy. The reason the ECB tries not to print money is to prevent inflation. That’s the only reason. But we are in a crisis and we need money to get the economy going again. Central banks can do what ever they want
A lot will depend on how well (if at all) the tourist industry bounces back when restrictions are fully lifted.
I think a lot of other sectors will be ok as they were performing well before the crisis hit.
Clamping down on Tax Evasion rather than just increasing tax would be a fine chance. Nixers & other undeclared additional income cheat everyone. The “Welfare Cheats cheat us all” is a classist argument that cost a fortune to roll out – and gathered less money in enforcement actions than it cost.
The ECB have already agreed to underwrite everything at 0%, no need for a recession. We can push money into the economy, build needed infrastructure all we need is a government and an Irish central bank with vision.
Sure we can blame the greens for it because somehow they buried us in corrupt debt for the last 20 years….knowing the moronic Irish voter down they will somehow come to this conclusion lol.
@Peter Hughes: well the green party last time they were in power introduced a regressive carbon tax which does nothing but punish people who have no choice to drive due to lack of rural public transport, can’t see them doing much better this time round
150 rounds of drinks ordered at the Dáil's bars on the day TDs failed to elect a new Taoiseach
28 mins ago
561
9
Dublin
What exactly is 'affordable' housing ... and how much should it cost?
6 hrs ago
2.2k
Darndale
Discovery of human hand in yard of Dublin primary school not thought to be malicious
Updated
12 hrs ago
54.2k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 152 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 104 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 136 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 106 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 78 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 77 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 37 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 33 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 127 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 60 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 75 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 82 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 38 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 43 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 25 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 86 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 96 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 68 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 50 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 84 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 64 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say