The Inquiry
The Inquiry
Why is basic income being debated?
2 April 2026
24 minutes
Available for over a year
Ireland has a new permanent government scheme providing regular cash transfers to 2,000 artists.
The people who can access it range from circus performers to opera singers.
It follows a pilot of more than three years which is believed to have brought a return on investment to the economy.
Big tech backs basic income schemes like this to offset the consequences AI is having on the workforce.
Leading economists believe it could create a dystopian world.
Nevertheless, more governments are piloting or planning to introduce schemes like this.
This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Why is basic income being debated?’
Contributors:
Dr Jenny Dagg, assistant lecturer, Maynooth University, Ireland
Dr Catarina Neves, postdoctoral fellow, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Daron Acemoglu, 2024 Nobel Prize winner in economics, institute professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US
Jurgen De Wispelaere, acting chair of the Basic Income Earth Network
Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Daniel Rosney
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Technical Producer: Craig Boardman
Production Management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey
(Photo: A customer withdraws euro bills from an ATM in Sofia. Credit: Bloomberg/Getty Images)
