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NCHD doctor salary in Ireland

Hospital doctors below consultant level are paid by grade rather than on one long scale, and each grade has its own points. This page has all five, from the intern year through to Senior Registrar.

The short answer

A newly qualified non-consultant hospital doctor (nchd) starts on €47,127 a year. After 1 years of service you reach the top of the scale on €47,127. Allowances for promoted posts and, for some teachers, qualifications are paid on top of these figures.

Starting salary
€47,127
about €3,158 a month take-home
Top of the scale
€47,127
about €3,158 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
€47,127

The full pay scale, every point

Intern

The intern year, the first year after graduating in medicine. A single flat point, with no incremental progression within the grade.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€47,127€37,898€3,158

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.

Senior House Officer

Seven points. The increments here are uneven, with a jump of over €5,400 between points 4 and 5.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€55,292€42,046€3,504
2€58,011€43,427€3,619
3€62,123€45,514€3,793
4€64,832€46,888€3,907
5€70,276€49,636€4,136
6€72,982€50,873€4,239
7€75,623€52,080€4,340

These are basic salary scales only. Overtime, on-call and premium payments are set separately from the basic scale and are not included in any figure on this page, so an NCHD's actual earnings are typically well above the point they sit on. The Consolidated Salary Scales also list separate variants of some grades for pension purposes only, which are not pay rates and are not shown here.

What you earn in each year of your career

On the intern scale you move up one point for each year of satisfactory service, with no skipped points. That means 1 years of service to reach the top.

Years of service Your point Gross salary
Year 1Point 1€47,127

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 doctor earn in Ireland?
Below consultant level it depends on the grade. An intern earns €47,127. A Senior House Officer runs from €55,292 to €75,623, a Registrar from €70,276 to €82,756, a Specialist Registrar from €78,786 to €98,091, and a Senior Registrar from €83,847 to €102,619. These are basic scales from the Health Sector Consolidated Salary Scales effective 1 June 2026, before overtime and on-call.
What does an intern doctor earn in Ireland?
€47,127 a year. The intern year is a single flat point with no progression within it, because it lasts one year before you move to Senior House Officer.
How much does a Senior House Officer earn?
Between €55,292 and €75,623 across seven points. The increments are notably uneven: the step from point 4 to point 5 is €5,444, more than double most of the others on the scale.
How much does a hospital Registrar earn in Ireland?
Between €70,276 and €82,756 across six points. Worth knowing when moving up: the first three Registrar points are identical to the last three Senior House Officer points, so an SHO at the top of their scale moves across on the same money and progresses from there.
What is the difference between a Specialist Registrar and a Senior Registrar?
Both are seven point scales but at different levels. Specialist Registrar runs from €78,786 to €98,091 and is the higher specialist training grade. Senior Registrar runs from €83,847 to €102,619 and is the most senior NCHD grade. The gap between the two ceilings is €4,528.
Is overtime included in these figures?
No. Every figure on this page is basic salary only. Overtime, on-call and premium payments are set separately from the basic scale, and for many NCHDs they add a substantial amount on top. Any site quoting a single number for what a hospital doctor earns is either quoting basic pay or estimating total earnings, and the two are very different.
How much ASC does an NCHD pay?
A significant amount, because the whole structure sits above the thresholds. The Additional Superannuation Contribution charges nothing on the first €34,500, then a Single Public Service Pension Scheme member pays 3.33% to €60,000 and 3.5% above. From Registrar upward almost the entire salary is in the top band.
Is NCHD pay the same in every hospital?
Yes across the public system. The Consolidated Salary Scales are national and apply in HSE hospitals and Section 38 voluntary hospitals alike, so the same point pays the same everywhere. What varies between posts is the amount of overtime and on-call, which is where actual earnings diverge.
How much does a hospital consultant earn compared to an NCHD?
Considerably more, and consultants are on their own separate scales rather than a continuation of the NCHD structure. A Senior Registrar at the very top of the NCHD ladder is on €102,619, which is where consultant pay begins rather than ends.
When do HSE salaries increase next?
These rates come from the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026, which applied a 1% increase to basic salaries 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 new consolidated scales are 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 2026-08-14.

More public sector pay:

All public sector pay scales →