Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 444 and 445 together.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body under the aegis of my Department, established on 1st October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The WRC’s primary functions include the inspection of employment law compliance, the provision of information on employment law, mediation, adjudication, conciliation, facilitation, and advisory services.

Table 1 sets out the amount in unpaid wages that has been returned to workers following workplace investigations by the Workplace Relations Commission Inspectorate by sector, and value of wages, in 2023.

Table 2 sets out the number of inspections carried out by the Workplace Relations Commission in 2023, by NACE sector; the number of breaches detected, the type of breaches detected; and the counties in which the breaches were detected.

Table 1 - The amount of unpaid wages recovered by the WRC inspectorate in 2023

Table 2 - the number of inspections carried out by the Workplace Relations Commission in 2023, by NACE sector; the number of breaches detected, (See table 1 above); the type of breaches detected; and the counties in which the breaches were detected, in tabular form

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body under the aegis of my Department, established on 1st October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The WRC’s primary functions include the inspection of employment law compliance, the provision of information on employment law, mediation, adjudication, conciliation, facilitation, and advisory services.

In 2023 the WRC heard 785 pre-adjudication mediations and the conciliation service dealt with 606 conciliation conferences. Added, the WRC's adjudication services held 4,564 hearings to end November 2023. In addition the WRC inspectorate completed 4727 inspections of businesses to ensure compliance with employment rights legislation.

The WRC does not have data in relation to the number of cases settled in favour of workers during 2023 nor amounts given to these workers. The WRC is not privy to settlement terms between the parties and cases settled at mediation are confidential between the parties.

Insofar as the WRC inspectorate is concerned, it secured repayment to employees of €1,950,601 in unpaid wages and entitlements across all legislation in 2023.