Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 February 2026
313. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of claims or cases adjudicated upon by the Workplace Relations Commission mediation service in each of the past five years; the breakdown of those claims by who brought the claim, either employee or employer, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11523/26]
View answer314. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of cases that were brought by an employee against an employer to the Workplace Relations Commission’s mediation service, which were deemed to have a valid claim in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11524/26]
View answer315. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of cases that were brought by an employee against an employer to the Workplace Relations Commission’s mediation service, which were deemed not to have a valid claim in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11525/26]
View answer316. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of cases that were brought by an employer against an employee to the Workplace Relations Commission’s mediation service, which were deemed to have a valid claim in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11526/26]
View answer317. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of cases that were brought by an employer against an employee to the Workplace Relations Commission’s mediation service, which were deemed not to have a valid claim in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11527/26]
View answer318. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of cases, in each of the years 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, where an employee complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission was deemed not to have a valid claim at mediation stage, the complaint subsequently proceeded to a full hearing, and the complaint was upheld, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11528/26]
View answer319. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of cases, in each of the years 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, where an employee complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission was deemed not to have a valid claim at mediation stage, the complaint subsequently proceeded to a full hearing, and the complaint was not upheld, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11529/26]
View answerI propose to take Question Nos 313, 314, 315,316,317, 318 and 319 together.
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body under the aegis of my Department. 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.
The WRC provides statutory mediation under Section 39 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 where an individual has referred an employment or equality complaint for adjudication, and both parties have agreed to participate in discussions to attempt to resolve the matter before an adjudication hearing takes place.
Participation in mediation is voluntary and either party can choose not to participate. There is no cost to the parties to participate in mediation. Pre-adjudication mediation is confidential under the legislation, and any agreement reached is legally binding on the parties. A Mediator cannot determine whether a complaint is well founded or not, they are there purely in a facilitatory capacity, to assist the parties in reaching a mutually satisfactory agreement. If no such agreement is reached, then the claim will proceed to an adjudication hearing. Employers cannot make employment or equality complaints against their employees.
The below table provides data on the number of mediation cases heard by the WRC between 2021 and 2025.
• "New Mediation Cases", refers to cases where either the complainant or respondent was agreeable to mediation.
• "Mediations That Took Place", refers to the number of instances where the parties voluntarily engaged in meaningful discussions with a view to resolving the matter by agreement.
• "Mediations Resolved", refers to the number of cases where both parties signed a legally binding mediated agreement to resolve the case.
• "Cases Withdrawn After Mediation Before Adjudication", refers to the number of cases where parties engaged with WRC Mediation Services but did not sign a mediated agreement and the Complainant subsequently withdrew the case before an adjudication hearing took place.
• "Total Diverted from Adjudication" refers to the total of row 3 and row 4 combined and reflects the impact of Mediation Services on cases referred for adjudication.
The WRC does not track the outcome of cases that were with Mediation Services and later progressed to an adjudication hearing. Therefore it is not possible to provide any data in relation to same.
|
|
|
2025 |
2024 |
2023 |
2022 |
2021 |
|
1 |
Number of New Mediation Cases |
2950 |
2304 |
1926 |
1546 |
1670 |
|
2 |
Number of Mediations That Took Place |
1034 |
894 |
785 |
658 |
501 |
|
3 |
Number of Mediations Resolved |
554 |
526 |
443 |
313 |
241 |
|
4 |
Cases Withdrawn After Mediation Before Adjudication |
515 |
427 |
402 |
478 |
471 |
|
5 |
Total Diverted from Adjudication |
1069 |
953 |
845 |
791 |
712 |
The number of mediations that have taken place under the auspices of the WRC has increased by 106% in the last 5 years and continues to grow year on year, demonstrating that mediation is a fast, informal, non-adversarial and cost-effective method of resolving workplace disputes for employees, employers, and the State that results in mutually beneficial outcomes.
