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Assistant Principal salary in Ireland

Assistant Principal is the first senior management grade of the Irish civil service, and the step up from Higher Executive Officer is one of the largest in the whole structure. This page has every point and what you actually take home.

The short answer

A newly qualified assistant principal starts on €83,113 a year. After 12 years of service you reach the top of the scale on €103,576. Allowances for promoted posts and, for some teachers, qualifications are paid on top of these figures.

Starting salary
€83,113
about €4,625 a month take-home
Top of the scale
€103,576
about €5,405 a month take-home

Figures from Circular 22/2026, effective 1 June 2026. Take-home is for a single person with standard credits, after income tax, USC, PRSI and ASC.

What point of the scale am I on?

This is where most salary pages get it wrong. Your point is not always the same as your years of service, because one of the two scales carries incremental skips. Pick your situation:

You are on point 1
€83,113

The full pay scale, every point

Assistant Principal, standard scale (PPC)

PPC means Personal Pension Contribution, the scale for anyone recruited since 6 April 1995. This is the scale a newly appointed Assistant Principal goes on.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€83,113€55,503€4,625
2€86,173€56,901€4,742
3€89,277€58,319€4,860
4€92,390€59,742€4,979
5€95,499€61,163€5,097
6€97,292€61,982€5,165
LSI 1€100,427€63,415€5,285
LSI 2€103,576€64,854€5,405

Take-home assumes a single person with the personal and employee tax credits, no other income, and ASC at Single Public Service Pension Scheme rates. Your main superannuation contribution is deducted separately and depends on your scheme.

Assistant Principal, higher scale (PPC)

A higher scale attaches to certain Assistant Principal posts, and it carries its own pair of long service increments.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€91,229€59,212€4,934
2€94,699€60,797€5,066
3€98,178€62,387€5,199
4€101,658€63,978€5,331
5€105,132€65,565€5,464
6€107,164€66,494€5,541
LSI 1€110,611€68,069€5,672
LSI 2€114,069€69,649€5,804

A separate non-PPC scale exists for staff recruited before 6 April 1995, who pay modified PRSI rather than Class A. Because their PRSI is charged differently, the take-home figures here do not apply to that group.

What you earn in each year of your career

On the standard scale scale you move up one point for each year of satisfactory service, with no skipped points. That means 12 years of service to reach the top.

Years of service Your point Gross salary
Year 1Point 1€83,113
Year 2Point 2€86,173
Year 3Point 3€89,277
Year 4Point 4€92,390
Year 5Point 5€95,499
Year 6Point 6€97,292
Year 9Long Service Increment 1€100,427
Year 12Long Service Increment 2€103,576

Progression is automatic on your incremental date as long as your service is satisfactory. Time spent on a career break or otherwise out of service pushes your incremental date back. The two Long Service Increments are not annual increments: they are paid for time served at the maximum of the scale, LSI 1 after 3 years and LSI 2 after 6 years. That is why they appear several years after the last point rather than one after the other.

What comes off your salary

Four deductions apply before your pay reaches your account, and one of them is specific to the public service.

Income tax, USC and PRSI

The same as any employee. Income tax at 20% up to €44,000 for a single person and 40% above, USC in bands from 0.5% to 8%, and PRSI at 4.2%.

ASC, the public service extra

The Additional Superannuation Contribution. Nothing on the first €34,500, then 3.33% to €60,000 and 3.5% above for Single Scheme members. Pre-2013 scheme members pay 10% and 10.5% on the same bands. It reduces your income tax but not your USC or PRSI.

One thing to be aware of: the take-home figures on this page include ASC but not your main superannuation contribution, which is charged separately and depends on which pension scheme you joined. Your actual net pay will be somewhat lower. We show ASC because its rates are published and identical for everyone, while the main contribution varies.

Questions people ask most

How much does an Assistant Principal earn in the Irish civil service?
An Assistant Principal starts on €83,113 a year and reaches €97,292 at the top of the ordinary standard scale. The two long service increments then bring it to €100,427 and finally €103,576. Figures come from Circular 22/2026, effective 1 June 2026.
What is the starting salary for an Assistant Principal?
€83,113 a year at point 1 of the standard PPC scale. It is worth seeing that next to the grade below: a Higher Executive Officer at the very top of their scale, including both long service increments, earns €76,546, so an AP on day one is already ahead of an HEO with thirteen years in the grade.
How long does it take to reach the top of the AP scale?
6 years to reach the top ordinary point of €97,292, which is a short scale. The first long service increment follows after 3 further years at the maximum and the second after 6, so €103,576 arrives after 12 years in total.
What is the difference between the standard and higher AP scales?
The higher scale attaches to particular posts rather than to length of service, and unlike most higher scales it has its own long service increments. It runs from €91,229 to €107,164 on ordinary points, then €110,611 and €114,069 with the two increments.
What are LSI1 and LSI2?
Long service increments, and they are not ordinary annual increments. LSI1 is paid after 3 years of satisfactory service at the maximum of the scale and LSI2 after 6 years. Because the ordinary AP scale is only six points, the increments make up a substantial share of the grade's full range.
What is the difference between an Assistant Principal and a Principal Officer?
Principal Officer is the next grade up and the senior management tier below Assistant Secretary. A PO starts on €108,152, which is above the top of the AP standard scale including both long service increments, and the PO scale runs to €133,775.
Is a civil service Assistant Principal the same as a school Assistant Principal?
No, and the two are often confused in search results. This page is about the civil service grade, a senior management position in a government department, paid €83,113 and up. In a school, Assistant Principal I and II are posts of responsibility for teachers, paid as an allowance of about €10,700 or €4,700 on top of the teacher's own point on the teaching scale.
How much ASC does an Assistant Principal pay?
A meaningful amount, because the whole scale is above the thresholds. Nothing is charged on the first €34,500, then a Single Public Service Pension Scheme member pays 3.33% to €60,000 and 3.5% on everything above. Members of pre-2013 schemes pay 10% and 10.5% on the same bands, which at this salary level is a large deduction.
How do you become an Assistant Principal?
Mainly through internal and interdepartmental promotion competitions open to serving Higher Executive Officers and Administrative Officers, and occasionally through open competitions advertised on publicjobs.ie.
When do civil service salaries increase next?
These 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 the next rates depend on the agreement that replaces it. We update this page when a new circular is published.

Where these figures come from

Every euro figure on this page is taken from the official circulars below, not from salary surveys or crowd-sourced averages. Last checked 2026-08-13.

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