Props to the Arts Block

For a small country, Ireland is prolly punching above its poundage for progressive political pushes. When he was Health Minister, the current Taoiseach Micheál Martin banned smoking in pubs. The sky did not fall and my Friday night sweater stank of me rather than Rothmans. Then in March 2002, the government introduced a 15c levy on plastic shopping bags. The landscape became demonstrably cleaner overnight. Bangladesh was first to ban bags but implementation was sketchy, over time everyone else followed. For the Arts Block, C.J. Haughey created the elitist Aosdána in 1981 which allowed starvin' creatives to claim their cnuas instead of TB and an early death. Because we knew a tuthree Aosdána we got to eat oysters and Guinness at the official opening, on 21st May 1991, of IMMA the Irish Museum of Modern Art = Áras Nua-Ealaíne na hÉireann in the Royal [veterans] Hospital Kilmainham. Apart from the, like, Art, IMMA is a) free-in and b) just up the hill from Heuston Station if we're early for the train home.

In 2022, stipends for creatives were given a wider, less exclusive boost by Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin [no relation, political or familial, to El Jefe Micheál Martin!] with the Basic Income for the Arts scheme which The Blob covered at launch in 2022. I wondered at the time, if I struck a theatrical pose in a smock with two paint-brushes behind one ear, I could get my Arty snout in the trough. With, say, my "Water Under the Bridge" [R] part of my ongoing Ahoy bday card daub collection. No? I don't think so either.

The current Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport Patrick O'Donovan is wondering why Tourism and the Gaeltacht have been lifted from his portfolio. But he's gone foot to the floor on Basic Income for the Arts because The Data show a 39% RoI for RoI [Return on Investment . . . Republic of Ireland]. Min. O'Donovan is going to double the number on the BIA payroll. He's a scientist [Chemistry, UL] so will know that doubling the recipients will not double the RoI. I have to applaud the fact that he commissioned >!data!< a survey which was returned by ~17,000 people which might / should inform policy / further roll-out. For example: should poor artists or successful artists be privileged in their dole or should the glittering prizes be allocated at random as in the pilot?

How select eligible recipients?
	Answers	Ratio
Needy	8090	47.08
Have record	6464	37.62
Random	2455	14.29
NA	175	1.02
TOTAL	17184	100

 But The Man  reported the ratios to 2 significant figures 47.08% rather than a readily understandable good enough number like 47%. You can give us the 47.08 because ExCel does the math with a click and a sweep but it is unnecessary and blurs the take-home.