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Director of Service salary in Ireland

Director of Service is the tier directly below the Chief Executive in an Irish county or city council, titled Executive Manager in Dublin City Council. It has the most evenly spaced scale in local government, and no long service increments at all.

The short answer

A newly qualified director of service starts on €115,332 a year. After 5 years of service you reach the top of the scale on €136,300. Allowances for promoted posts and, for some teachers, qualifications are paid on top of these figures.

Starting salary
€115,332
about €5,852 a month take-home
Top of the scale
€136,300
about €6,651 a month take-home

Figures from Circular EL 04/2026, 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
€115,332

The full pay scale, every point

Director of Service, Executive Manager (Dublin City Council)

Five points and no long service increments. The four steps are almost identical in size, which makes this the most evenly spaced scale in the local government sector.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€115,332€70,227€5,852
2€120,573€72,622€6,052
3€125,815€75,017€6,251
4€131,055€77,412€6,451
5€136,300€79,809€6,651

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.

What you earn in each year of your career

On the director of service scale scale you move up one point for each year of satisfactory service, with no skipped points. That means 5 years of service to reach the top.

Years of service Your point Gross salary
Year 1Point 1€115,332
Year 2Point 2€120,573
Year 3Point 3€125,815
Year 4Point 4€131,055
Year 5Point 5€136,300

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 Director of Service earn in Ireland?
A Director of Service starts on €115,332 a year and reaches €136,300 at the fifth and final point. There are no long service increments on this scale. Figures come from Circular EL 04/2026, effective 1 June 2026.
What is the starting salary for a Director of Service?
€115,332 a year at point 1. That clears the ceiling of the Senior Executive Officer grade below, which reaches €109,155 including both its long service increments, so this is a promotion with no overlap.
How long does it take to reach the top of the scale?
5 years. Because there are no long service increments, point 5 at €136,300 is the ceiling of the grade, and there is nothing further to gain from staying longer.
Why are the increments on this scale so regular?
It is the most evenly spaced scale in local government. The four steps are €5,241, €5,242, €5,240 and €5,245, a spread of just five euro between the largest and the smallest. Most other grades vary by hundreds or thousands between steps.
Is Director of Service the same as Executive Manager?
Yes, for pay purposes. The circular sets the same scale for Director of Service and for Executive Manager in Dublin City Council, which is the title used there for the equivalent post.
How does a Director of Service compare to a Chief Executive?
The Chief Executive earns considerably more, and their pay is banded by the size of the authority rather than set on a scale. It runs from €168,954 in the smaller counties to €241,361 for Dublin City. A Director of Service at the very top of their scale is on €136,300, so even the smallest council's Chief Executive is more than €32,000 ahead.
Why does this grade have no long service increment?
It is a feature of the senior tiers. Long service increments reward time served at the maximum of a scale, and they are standard from Grade 4 up through Senior Executive Officer. At Director of Service level the scale simply ends at point 5, as it does for the Graduate Engineer grade at the other end of the structure.
How much tax and ASC does a Director of Service pay?
A substantial share. Income tax is at 40% on everything above €44,000 for a single person, USC reaches the 8% band above €70,044, and ASC applies at 3.5% above €60,000 for a Single Public Service Pension Scheme member or 10.5% for a member of a pre-2013 scheme. The table on this page shows the resulting take-home for each point.
Is Director of Service pay the same in every council?
Yes. The scale is national and set by circular, so the same point pays the same in every county and city council regardless of size. Only the Chief Executive post is banded by the size of the authority.
When do local government 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 succeeds 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.

More public sector pay:

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