How public sector pay works
Nearly every public service job sits on an incremental salary scale: a numbered list of pay points. You are appointed to a point, and each year of satisfactory service moves you up one, until you reach the maximum. This is why a search result telling you the "average" salary for a job is close to meaningless. What matters is which point you are on.
Set by circular
Rates are published in government circulars, so they are exact and identical nationwide. There is no Dublin weighting.
Allowances on top
Your point is only the base. Qualification, location and promoted-post allowances can add thousands a year.
ASC comes off
Public servants pay the Additional Superannuation Contribution: nothing on the first €34,500, then a band to €60,000 and the balance above.
Current rates come from the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026, which applied a 1% increase on 1 June 2026. That agreement is in its final year, so a successor will set the next round.
Every grade we cover, ranked by ceiling
All 57 grades across every sector, in one table. This is the view no single page can give you: whether a council Grade 5 beats a civil service Executive Officer, or how teaching compares to either. Ceiling includes long service increments where the grade has them.
| Grade | Sector | Starts on | Ceiling | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital consultant | Health | €238,221 | €286,151 | 6 |
| Government minister | Elected office | €167,759 | €256,311 | flat |
| Director of Service | Local government | €115,332 | €136,300 | 5 |
| Psychologist | Health | €63,222 | €135,950 | 11 |
| Lecturer (Technological University and Institute of Technology) | Education | €47,572 | €135,494 | 9 |
| Principal Officer | Civil service | €108,152 | €133,775 | 11 |
| Defence Forces officer | Justice and defence | €39,858 | €125,371 | 4 |
| County Engineer | Local government | €100,515 | €123,263 | 11 |
| TD | Elected office | €119,467 | €119,467 | flat |
| Senior Engineer | Local government | €93,698 | €112,107 | 12 |
| Pharmacist | Health | €50,485 | €111,519 | 6 |
| Senior Executive Officer | Local government | €82,595 | €109,155 | 13 |
| Assistant Principal | Civil service | €83,113 | €103,576 | 12 |
| Non-Consultant Hospital Doctor (NCHD) | Health | €47,127 | €102,619 | 7 |
| HSE administrative grades | Health | €31,934 | €101,207 | 7 |
| Senior Executive Engineer | Local government | €80,680 | €100,692 | 13 |
| Social worker | Health | €51,127 | €100,486 | 6 |
| Dietitian | Health | €45,514 | €100,131 | 7 |
| Physiotherapist | Health | €45,514 | €94,350 | 7 |
| Occupational therapist | Health | €45,514 | €94,350 | 7 |
| Speech and language therapist | Health | €45,514 | €94,350 | 7 |
| Podiatrist | Health | €45,514 | €94,350 | 7 |
| Medical Scientist | Health | €38,422 | €90,688 | 9 |
| Advanced Nurse Practitioner | Health | €72,146 | €89,894 | 9 |
| Midwife | Health | €38,166 | €89,894 | 9 |
| Post-primary teacher | Education | €47,417 | €86,265 | 24 |
| Physiologist | Health | €45,224 | €85,524 | 12 |
| Executive Engineer | Local government | €60,858 | €84,596 | 16 |
| Primary school teacher | Education | €45,833 | €84,412 | 24 |
| School principal | Education | €45,833 | €84,412 | 24 |
| Senator | Elected office | €83,666 | €83,666 | flat |
| Radiographer | Health | €44,956 | €82,030 | 5 |
| Clinical Nurse Manager | Health | €57,780 | €81,478 | 6 |
| Audiologist | Health | €40,920 | €80,470 | 6 |
| Local authority Administrative Officer (Grade 7) | Local government | €61,217 | €79,583 | 15 |
| Social Care Worker | Health | €41,260 | €79,459 | 6 |
| Optometrist | Health | €65,197 | €76,767 | 9 |
| Administrative Officer | Civil service | €41,176 | €76,546 | 16 |
| Higher Executive Officer | Civil service | €60,029 | €76,546 | 13 |
| Assistant Engineer | Local government | €48,248 | €74,809 | 17 |
| Senior Staff Officer (Grade 6) | Local government | €58,474 | €71,437 | 11 |
| Paramedic | Health | €36,251 | €70,386 | 9 |
| Executive Officer | Civil service | €38,803 | €63,227 | 18 |
| Staff Officer (Grade 5) | Local government | €52,761 | €63,109 | 11 |
| Dental Nurse | Health | €32,308 | €62,652 | 7 |
| Defence Forces enlisted personnel | Justice and defence | €33,636 | €62,505 | 4 |
| Garda | Justice and defence | €39,194 | €60,333 | 8 |
| Hospital Chef | Health | €42,486 | €57,499 | 12 |
| Staff Nurse | Health | €38,166 | €56,592 | 15 |
| Assistant Staff Officer (Grade 4) | Local government | €36,474 | €56,015 | 15 |
| Phlebotomist | Health | €27,196 | €55,362 | 6 |
| Graduate Engineer | Local government | €40,244 | €50,951 | 4 |
| Special Needs Assistant | Education | €31,664 | €50,161 | 17 |
| Clerical Officer | Civil service | €31,811 | €49,858 | 20 |
| Local authority Clerical Officer (Grade 3) | Local government | €31,935 | €49,413 | 17 |
| Health Care Assistant | Health | €36,651 | €45,939 | 9 |
| Prison Officer | Justice and defence | €37,161 | €41,450 | 3 |
The spread is wide: from €27,196 at the entry point of Phlebotomist to €286,151 at the ceiling of Hospital consultant. Take-home for every individual point is on each grade's own page.
Pay scales by sector
We are building this out one job at a time, and a page goes live only when every figure on it has been taken from the source circular. 58 pages are live so far.
Education
5 of 5 liveTeachers, special needs assistants and staff in schools and further education.
Health
26 of 26 liveHSE grades, from nursing and medical staff to health and social care professionals.
- Staff nurse
- Non-Consultant Hospital Doctor (NCHD)
- Hospital consultant
- Physiotherapist
- Social worker
- Healthcare assistant
- Psychologist
- Occupational therapist
- Speech and language therapist
- Radiographer
- HSE administrative grades (Clerical Officer to Grade VIII)
- Dietitian
- Podiatrist
- Audiologist
- Paramedic
- Pharmacist
- Clinical Nurse Manager
- Advanced Nurse Practitioner
- Midwife
- Social Care Worker
- Dental Nurse
- Physiologist
- Phlebotomist
- Optometrist
- Hospital Chef
- Medical Scientist
Civil service
6 of 6 liveThe common grades that run across every government department.
Justice and defence
4 of 4 liveAn Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and the Irish Prison Service.
Local government
14 of 14 liveCounty and city council staff: the Grade 3 to Grade 7 administrative ladder, engineers and the fire service.
- Clerical Officer (Grade 3)
- Assistant Staff Officer (Grade 4)
- Staff Officer (Grade 5)
- Senior Staff Officer (Grade 6)
- Administrative Officer (Grade 7)
- Executive Engineer
- Retained firefighter
- Assistant Engineer
- Senior Executive Engineer
- Senior Engineer
- County Engineer
- Senior Executive Officer
- Graduate Engineer
- Director of Service
Elected office
3 of 3 liveTDs, Senators and members of the government.
How we source these figures
Each page cites the circular number and date it is built from, and links to it. We do not use salary surveys, job board averages or crowd-sourced estimates. When a new circular is published we update the page and the date on it. Last reviewed 2026-08-13.