A State watchdog has recovered more than €12m in unpaid wages from employers over the past five and a half years.
It comes after investigations by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
The WRC works on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Since 2017, it has carried out over 29,000 inspections of workplaces.
They check if businesses are compliant with their statutory obligations, and arrange for any outstanding money to be given to workers.
Over the past five and a half years, they have recovered over €12m in unpaid wages.
Sinn Féin's workers' rights spokesperson, Louise O'Reilly, explains why.
"Some of it is because money has been withheld by employers because they haven't been paid the correct rate for the job, or because they haven't been paid the correct rate for overtime, or they haven't been paid enough money.
"These are the cases that have resulted where challenges have been taken, or where investigations have taken place".
One-fifth of the money recovered since 2017 has been from the wholesale and retail sector, at €2.4m.
Other areas with large amounts of unpaid wages include the food and drink sector, agriculture, hotels and construction.
In total, the WRC has identified 1,437 breaches of the national minimum wage over the past five and a half years.
