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Clinical Nurse Manager pay in Ireland

There are three clinical nurse manager grades and they behave very differently. One has eight points and no long service increment, one has ten and does, and the third is short and starts high.

The short answer

A newly qualified clinical nurse manager starts on €57,780 a year. After 8 years of service you reach the top of the scale on €68,046. Allowances for promoted posts and, for some teachers, qualifications are paid on top of these figures.

Starting salary
€57,780
about €3,609 a month take-home
Top of the scale
€68,046
about €4,043 a month take-home

Figures from Department of Health Circular 2/2026, 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
€57,780

The full pay scale, every point

Clinical Nurse Manager 1

The same scale applies to CNM1 in general nursing, mental health and theatre. Eight points and no long service increment, so it tops out after about seven years.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€57,780€43,310€3,609
2€58,828€43,842€3,654
3€60,306€44,593€3,716
4€61,810€45,355€3,780
5€63,305€46,113€3,843
6€64,809€46,876€3,906
7€66,484€47,725€3,977
8€68,046€48,517€4,043

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.

Clinical Nurse Manager 2

General, mental health, night duty and theatre CNM2 posts are all on this scale. Ten ordinary points and then a long service increment, the only one of the three grades to have one.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€62,699€45,806€3,817
2€63,737€46,332€3,861
3€64,615€46,777€3,898
4€66,048€47,504€3,959
5€67,633€48,308€4,026
6€69,189€49,097€4,091
7€70,745€49,850€4,154
8€72,497€50,651€4,221
9€74,123€51,394€4,283
10€76,921€52,673€4,389
LSI€79,227€53,727€4,477

In the source document long service increments are marked only by being printed in bold. We identified them from the font used rather than by assuming which points they were, because a misread there would change how long the scale takes to climb. The <strong>midwifery equivalents are on identical scales</strong>: Clinical Midwife Manager 1, 2 and 3 pay exactly the same as CNM1, CNM2 and CNM3.

What you earn in each year of your career

On the cnm1 scale you move up one point for each year of satisfactory service, with no skipped points. That means 8 years of service to reach the top.

Years of service Your point Gross salary
Year 1Point 1€57,780
Year 2Point 2€58,828
Year 3Point 3€60,306
Year 4Point 4€61,810
Year 5Point 5€63,305
Year 6Point 6€64,809
Year 7Point 7€66,484
Year 8Point 8€68,046

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.

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 a clinical nurse manager earn in Ireland?
It depends which grade. CNM1 runs from €57,780 to €68,046, CNM2 from €62,699 to €76,921 with a long service increment of €79,227, and CNM3 from €72,146 to €81,478. These are the HSE scales effective 1 June 2026.
What is the difference between CNM1, CNM2 and CNM3 in pay?
CNM1 and CNM2 overlap heavily: the top of CNM1 at €68,046 sits between points 5 and 6 of the CNM2 scale. The bigger difference is the ceiling. CNM1 stops at €68,046 with no long service increment, while CNM2 can reach €79,227, which is €11,181 higher.
How much does a CNM2 earn?
From €62,699 at the first point to €76,921 at the top of the ordinary scale, then a long service increment of €79,227. CNM2 posts in general nursing, mental health, night duty and theatre are all on the same scale.
Does a CNM3 always earn more than a CNM2?
No, and this catches people out. CNM3 starts at €72,146, which is below the €76,921 top of the ordinary CNM2 scale and well below the €79,227 long service increment. A long serving CNM2 promoted to CNM3 can find the first point of the new grade pays less than what they were on.
How long does it take to reach the top of the CNM2 scale?
About nine years to reach €76,921 at the top of the ten ordinary points, then the long service increment of €79,227 after a further period at the maximum. CNM1 takes about seven years to its ceiling and has no long service increment at all.
Do clinical midwife managers earn the same?
Yes, exactly the same. Clinical Midwife Manager 1, 2 and 3 are on identical scales to CNM1, CNM2 and CNM3, point for point, in the HSE consolidated scales.
How much more does a CNM1 earn than a staff nurse?
The first point of CNM1 at €57,780 is above the €56,592 long service increment that a staff nurse reaches at the very end of a twelve point scale. In other words, promotion to CNM1 puts you immediately past what a staff nurse can earn after a full career on the scale.
Is theatre or night duty paid differently?
Not in basic pay. CNM1 theatre is on the same scale as CNM1 general, and CNM2 theatre and night duty are on the same scale as CNM2 general. Any difference in take-home comes from premium payments for unsocial hours, which sit outside the scale.
When do these rates change next?
These are the rates effective 1 June 2026 under the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026. That agreement is in its final year, so the next change depends on the agreement that succeeds it. We update this page when the Department of Health publishes revised scales.

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 2026-08-14.

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