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Per Cent for Art Scheme

One percent of the project cost, with a ceiling that rises in bands. On a project under €5 million it is 1% up to a maximum of €50,000. Between €5 million and €20 million the maximum is €125,000. Between €20 million and €50 million it is €350,000. Above €50 million it is up to €500,000, declining as a proportion as the project gets bigger. These bands took effect on 1 January 2020.

Last checked September 2026

What it is

A government rule, running since 1978, that lets 1% of the cost of any publicly funded capital or building project go towards commissioning a work of art. It is how a great deal of public art in Ireland actually gets paid for, and most artists have never heard of it. You do not apply to a central fund. The commissioning body is the council, school, health service or the OPW building the thing, and artists come in through an open competition, a limited competition or a direct invitation.

Who can get it

You are a professional artist looking for a public commission, in any artform
There is a publicly funded capital, infrastructural or building project in your area. Since 1997 the scheme has applied to capital projects across all government departments
You are watching the commissioning bodies rather than waiting for a national call. That means local authorities, schools, health settings and the Office of Public Works

Good to know

THERE IS NO CENTRAL POT TO APPLY TO. The money sits inside somebody else's building budget. Artists are selected through one of three routes: an open competition, a limited competition between invited parties, or a direct invitation or purchase.
The single most useful thing you can do is get on your local authority's arts office mailing list, because that is where the open competitions get advertised.
gov.ie's own guidance here is in a poor state and it says so. The only national guidelines document dates from 2004 and the Department notes on the same page that it cites parameters which are now outdated. A sibling gov.ie page still presents the superseded 2004 figures as if current. The bands above are the ones effective from 1 January 2020.
A National Per Cent for Art Committee was expected to finish work by early 2024 and no updated national guidelines have been published since.
publicart.ie, which gov.ie still points people to, is a placeholder page, so do not rely on finding live commissions there.

How to apply

Applications go through Dept of Culture. The official page has the full eligibility rules and the application itself.

Go to the official page →

Checked against the official source on 12 September 2026. Always confirm the details on the official page before applying.

Questions people ask

How much money is in a Per Cent for Art commission?

One percent of the capital project's cost, capped by band: up to €50,000 on projects under €5 million, €125,000 up to €20 million, €350,000 up to €50 million, and up to €500,000 above that. The bands took effect on 1 January 2020.

How does an artist apply?

You do not apply to the scheme itself. The body building the project commissions the art, so you respond to an open competition, or you are invited. Councils, schools, health settings and the OPW are the main commissioners.

Does it only apply to buildings?

No. It applies to publicly funded capital, infrastructural and building developments, and since 1997 it has been available across all government departments rather than just one.

Why do the figures differ from other pages I have seen?

Because some official pages are out of date. The current bands took effect on 1 January 2020, while the only national guidelines document is from 2004 and the Department's own page notes that its parameters are outdated.

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