Teenagers set to receive €100 culture voucher in Budget

The Government is planning to give a free €100 voucher to all 16-year-olds to spend on arts, cultural and music venues next year.

The initiative is expected to be unveiled in next month's Budget and if successful, could also be rolled out for all 17-year-olds in next year's Budget.

The final specifics are being worked on by the Minister for Arts, Media and Culture Patrick O'Donovan who is to finalise his department's budget allocation with the Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers in the coming days.

It is believed the voucher could be redeemable by means of a downloadable card.

Other European countries like France, Spain and Italy have versions of culture cards already, ranging in value from €300 to €500.

In January 2025, the Programme for Government committed to an "examination of the introduction of a culture card for 16 and 17-year-olds".

The department began the preliminary stages of reaching out to potential stakeholders and partners in relation to the scheme at the start of the year.

It is understood the initiative could cost between seven and eight million euro and would allow 16-year-olds entry to cinemas, theatres and music venues.

Some Government TDs have also sought for sporting venues to be included.

Minister O'Donovan has also considered whether the card might also apply to participatory activities like workshops, classes and community-based cultural experiences.

In France, venues are reimbursed by the Government every two to three weeks through a dedicated portal.

In Spain, venues receive money at the point of sale as transactions on the culture card are akin to a regular prepaid debit card transaction.

Read more: Political attention set as Budget 2027 on the horizon

The Spanish Government also subsidises an initiative to keep cinema tickets for over 65s at two euros on a Tuesday in order to help combat loneliness.

Earlier this year, Fianna Fáil TD Peter 'Chap' Cleere shared a video to his social media accounts of him pretending to be a DJ and outlining how his party's vision would see a €100 culture card being given to Irish citizens on their 18th birthday.

It is unclear at this juncture whether 18-year-olds will benefit from the scheme in time.

In August 2024, Sinn Féin launched its proposal to offer a €130 card to encourage young people to support children's participation in sport and culture - hinting towards some political consensus on the matter with surveys showing how the number of young adults attending live events since the Covid-19 pandemic has fallen significantly.