I have been dealing with the case of Marianne Byrne, a worker at the Cobh Heritage Centre in Cork. Marianne is a low-paid worker who has given 26 years of dedicated service. She was offered a 50 cent per hour increase by her employer after 16 years without a pay increase. Colleagues in a similar position were given raises of €1.50 an hour. Cobh Heritage Centre justified this paltry offer by saying Marianne had received a €2 pay increase 15 years ago. You could not make this up. Marianne was represented by Unite the Union at the Workplace Relations Commission and won a recommendation for an 85 cent raise to match the living wage. The board of management of the Cobh Heritage Centre, which relies on public finance and support, has been refusing to implement the recommendation since 8 May this year.

It is a blatant and disrespectful disregard by the board of the Cobh Heritage Centre. It did not even plead inability to pay at the hearing of the case and it gave the case to The HR Suite, a private company, to represent it at the Workplace Relations Commission. This is simply not good enough. Marianne's Unite the Union representative, Eoin Drummey, has written to the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and to the Tánaiste on her behalf stating that this refusal not only perpetuates the mistreatment of a long-standing female employee on low pay but also undermines the authority of the WRC and the principles of fair and just employment practices which it upholds. It is unacceptable that a State-sponsored and supported entity should fail to rectify a situation that has caused significant hardship for Ms Byrne over several years. There has been no reply or even acknowledgement from either the Minister or the Tánaiste.

It cannot be accepted that a service which relies on State funding undermines the WRC and refuses to pass on an 85 cent pay rise recommendation for a long-standing worker. I have made other representations on other occasions on behalf of Unite the Union and other unions for low-paid workers, particularly in relation to workers in voluntary and State-funded organisations. Ireland has one of the highest incidence of low pay in the EU. Not enough is being done for these workers. The very least the Government can do is to ensure that State-funded organisations are passing on WRC adjudications. Cobh Heritage Centre relies on State funding but is refusing to pass on a WRC recommendation and justifies this by reference to a pay increase 15 years ago and has ultimately failed to pay its workers a living wage. What can the Minister and the Government do to step in here? He can ensure that Marianne gets the pay rise she deserves and can ensure that the WRC is not being undermined by an organisation funded and supported by the State.

I thank Deputy Collins very much for her question. I obviously cannot comment on a specific WRC case or something that is subject to legal proceedings and I acknowledge, as the Deputy has said, that the case has been through the WRC and that there has been interaction between the worker and Cobh Heritage Centre. The Government is committed to supporting low-paid workers in our economy. That is why the national minimum wage will increase to €13.50 per hour from 1 January 2025, where an estimated 195,300 workers will directly benefit from this increase. The Government accepted the recommendation of the Low Pay Commission because of that. That demonstrates our wider commitment to progress a living wage in our economy. It is also important to acknowledge the wider footprint we have brought through on workers rights, not only on the national living wage but also on the introduction of a statutory sick pay entitlement for all workers in January 2023, which is making a difference to workers in the economy.

I am conscious, however, that the questions the Deputy has raised are specific to a particular worker and I obviously cannot comment here in the Dáil on any individual case and have to be careful in what I say in response to it. I will reflect on what the Deputy has said to the respective Ministers who have received correspondence on that. They will have to judge what is appropriate in any response, given what the case has been through and there are ongoing legal proceedings.

I thank the Minister but I am not very happy with that response. He refers to this being a specific WRC case. The case has been adjudicated upon. The centre has been told to pay Marianne the 85 cent extra, that is €14.85 per hour. That has gone through and it has been done. What I am raising is that we have a public body not implementing the WRC adjudication. If one has public bodies which are not doing it, we will certainly see private bodies which will not recognise any WRC recommendation. It is an absolute scandal. I am asking the Minister and the Government to intervene to ensure that public bodies implement WRC adjudications on cases referred to the WRC. The fact is that the State provides the Workplace Relations Commission as a statutory body to assist in resolving workplace disputes and complaints. This service is fully funded by the public through the Exchequer and its decisions should be implemented promptly by all employers, particularly those receiving public funding. I want a commitment that the Minister will step in here to ensure that Cobh Heritage Centre, as a public body, will implement that pay increase as recommended by the WRC.

I thank the Deputy. I am obviously not familiar with the specifics of the case or the particular structure of that company or how it is funded through the respective Departments. I will reflect on what she has said to the line Ministers who may provide funding to that particular entity. They will obviously have to judge what is appropriate in the context of what the service level agreement might be. It is important in our economy that we protect workers and the WRC plays an important role in that context. I will reflect on what the Deputy has said but obviously I am not aware of what the status of the relationship is between the Department and that particular company or what the corporate status is but if there is a service level agreement, the Department will be able to reflect on what the Deputy has said and on perhaps the correspondence it has received. I will also reflect what the Deputy has said today.

The centre was able to pay a private company to represent it, is able to pay other workers a pay increase but it will not implement the WRC adjudication.

I thank the Deputy and the Minister. That concludes Leaders' Questions.