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Higher Executive Officer salary in Ireland

Higher Executive Officer is the middle management grade of the Irish civil service, and its starting salary sits above the top of the ordinary Executive Officer scale. This page has every point, both long service increments, and the real take-home.

The short answer

A newly qualified higher executive officer starts on €60,029 a year. After 13 years of service you reach the top of the scale on €76,546. Allowances for promoted posts and, for some teachers, qualifications are paid on top of these figures.

Starting salary
€60,029
about €3,704 a month take-home
Top of the scale
€76,546
about €4,375 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
€60,029

The full pay scale, every point

Higher Executive Officer, standard scale (PPC)

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

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€60,029€44,452€3,704
2€61,785€45,343€3,779
3€63,537€46,231€3,853
4€65,286€47,118€3,926
5€67,044€48,009€4,001
6€68,792€48,895€4,075
7€70,547€49,760€4,147
LSI 1€73,077€50,916€4,243
LSI 2€76,546€52,501€4,375

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.

Higher Executive Officer, higher scale (PPC)

A higher scale attaches to certain HEO posts. It starts at point 3 of the standard scale and runs further, without long service increments.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€63,537€46,231€3,853
2€65,286€47,118€3,926
3€67,044€48,009€4,001
4€68,792€48,895€4,075
5€70,547€49,760€4,147
6€73,077€50,916€4,243
7€74,734€51,673€4,306
8€76,397€52,433€4,369
9€79,038€53,640€4,470

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 13 years of service to reach the top.

Years of service Your point Gross salary
Year 1Point 1€60,029
Year 2Point 2€61,785
Year 3Point 3€63,537
Year 4Point 4€65,286
Year 5Point 5€67,044
Year 6Point 6€68,792
Year 7Point 7€70,547
Year 10Long Service Increment 1€73,077
Year 13Long Service Increment 2€76,546

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 a Higher Executive Officer earn in Ireland?
A Higher Executive Officer starts on €60,029 a year and reaches €70,547 at the top of the ordinary standard scale. The two long service increments then bring it to €73,077 and finally €76,546. Figures come from Circular 22/2026, effective 1 June 2026.
What is the starting salary for an HEO?
€60,029 a year at point 1 of the standard PPC scale. That is worth noting on promotion: it is higher than the top ordinary point of the Executive Officer standard scale, which is €58,624, so moving from EO to HEO is a real jump rather than a sideways step.
How long does it take to reach the top of the HEO scale?
7 years to reach the top ordinary point of €70,547, which is one of the shorter scales in the civil service. The first long service increment follows after 3 further years at the maximum and the second after 6, so €76,546 arrives after 13 years in total.
What are LSI1 and LSI2 on the HEO scale?
Long service increments. They are not ordinary annual increments: LSI1 is paid after 3 years of satisfactory service at the maximum and LSI2 after 6 years. Because the ordinary HEO scale is short, the long service increments account for a meaningful part of the grade's full range.
What is the difference between an HEO and an Assistant Principal?
Assistant Principal is the next grade up and the first senior management grade. The pay difference is significant: AP starts on €83,113 against €60,029 for HEO, and the AP scale runs to €103,576 with long service increments. Promotion is usually through internal or interdepartmental competition.
Is an HEO the same as an Administrative Officer?
They are different grades but broadly equivalent in seniority, and they share the same long service increment figures of €73,077 and €76,546. Administrative Officer is a graduate policy entry grade starting at €41,176 on a long scale, while HEO is a management grade entered mainly by promotion, starting much higher at €60,029 on a short scale.
What is the difference between the standard and higher HEO scales?
The higher scale attaches to particular posts rather than to service. It starts at €63,537, which is point 3 of the standard scale, and runs to €79,038. It carries no long service increments because the scale runs further on its own.
How much ASC does a Higher Executive Officer pay?
More than the junior grades, because the whole scale sits above the exemption. Nothing is charged on the first €34,500. For a Single Public Service Pension Scheme member the rate is 3.33% from €34,500 to €60,000 and 3.5% above, so an HEO on point 1 pays it on almost the full scale amount.
How do you become a Higher Executive Officer?
Mainly by promotion from Executive Officer through internal or interdepartmental competition, and occasionally through open competitions advertised on publicjobs.ie. HEO is the usual next step for an experienced EO.
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.

More public sector pay:

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