Applicants to the Basic Income for the Arts scheme have raised concerns that plans to make their Personal Public Service (PPS) numbers publicly available could result in identity theft or fraud.
Government officials have conceded the move poses a potential privacy risk, but said efforts to mitigate it were continuing.
Under European regulations which came into effect in January, the PPS numbers of people who receive the Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) payments are required to be published on the EU State Aid register, which is accessible online.
The Department of Culture, which oversees the BIA scheme, first raised concerns about potential data protection issues late last year, The Irish Times has learned.
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The Department of Enterprise, which oversees State aid, has since been working with the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) and the European Commission to ensure recipients’ data remains safe.
The new phase of the BIA scheme – under which 2,000 artists will receive €325 per week – is set to run from later this year until 2029. More than 10,000 applications were received and those who are successful are expected to be informed in the autumn.
A number of applicants contacted the Department of Culture to flag potential privacy issues, according to records released via Freedom of Information.
In an email sent on May 6th, one applicant said publishing their full name and PPS number (PPSN) would make them “easily identifiable”.
“I would be comfortable with my full name being included but not my [PPSN] as this would leave me open to identity theft,” this person wrote.
On April 17th, another applicant said they were “concerned with regard to my name together with my PPSN being accessible by the public” as this information could be “stolen and potentially used fraudulently”.
In an email sent on April 23rd, an applicant sought clarity on “how much of my personal information will be available to the public if my application is successful”.
A spokesman for the Department of Culture confirmed that officials “raised data protection issues in late 2025”. He noted that, since the start of this year, all EU member states are “obliged to record de minimis aid in a centralised register, at EU level”.
The issue is being reviewed by the DPC and the Department of Culture “has not been informed yet about the outcome”, a statement said.
Deputy commissioner Graham Doyle confirmed that the DPC was examining the matter.
“The DPC is aware of certain changes to State aid registration necessitating the collection of information to monitor the distribution of public funds, and to present this in a transparent manner to the public,” Doyle said.
“The publication of information to achieve transparency in the disbursement of public funds must also be balanced with the data protection rights of recipients.
“While prior approval of the DPC is not required, we are working with various grant awarding public bodies to ensure that this balancing of rights and interests will be appropriately carried out.”
The BIA guidelines previously stated applicants had to “consent to their PPS number being shared with Revenue”. However, internal Department of Culture records show this information was updated in April to say applicants had to consent to their PPS number being included on the EU State Aid register.
When asked if recipients’ PPS numbers would be shared with Revenue, a spokesman said: “At present there’s no data-sharing agreement in place with Revenue.”
Recipients will have to register as self-employed with Revenue so they can be means-tested by the Department of Social Protection.
Given the volume of applications, the Department of Culture said it was “difficult to be precise” about when successful applicants will be informed, “but it will certainly be September at the earliest”.
