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Hospital pharmacist salary in Ireland

Hospital pharmacy in the public health service runs from basic grade to Chief Pharmacist I. The basic scale climbs faster than almost anything else in the health service, and the senior scale has one of the strangest steps in the whole document.

The short answer

A newly qualified pharmacist starts on €50,485 a year. After 12 years of service you reach the top of the scale on €80,758. Allowances for promoted posts and, for some teachers, qualifications are paid on top of these figures.

Starting salary
€50,485
about €3,300 a month take-home
Top of the scale
€80,758
about €4,536 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
€50,485

The full pay scale, every point

Pharmacist (scale effective from 1 December 2022)

Nine ordinary points then a long service increment. The steps grow the whole way up, from €3,240 at the first to €3,834 at the last.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€50,485€39,604€3,300
2€53,725€41,250€3,437
3€57,152€42,991€3,583
4€60,684€44,784€3,732
5€64,293€46,614€3,885
6€67,921€48,454€4,038
7€71,619€50,250€4,187
8€75,383€51,970€4,331
9€79,217€53,722€4,477
LSI€80,758€54,426€4,536

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 Pharmacist

Eight points, with wildly uneven steps. One of them, from point 4 to point 5, is worth just €139.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€77,045€52,729€4,394
2€80,586€54,348€4,529
3€81,719€54,865€4,572
4€82,848€55,381€4,615
5€82,987€55,445€4,620
6€84,565€56,166€4,681
7€86,303€56,960€4,747
8€89,345€58,351€4,863

A longer legacy pharmacist scale also exists for staff already in post, running from €43,040 through twelve ordinary points to the same €79,217 maximum and the same €80,758 long service increment. New appointees go on the shorter scale shown above, which starts at €50,485. Higher management grades exist beyond Chief Pharmacist I, including Pharmacist Executive Manager 2 and 3 reaching €134,413 and €142,525. Long service increments are marked in the source document by bold alone, so we identify them from the font.

What you earn in each year of your career

On the pharmacist 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€50,485
Year 2Point 2€53,725
Year 3Point 3€57,152
Year 4Point 4€60,684
Year 5Point 5€64,293
Year 6Point 6€67,921
Year 7Point 7€71,619
Year 8Point 8€75,383
Year 9Point 9€79,217
Year 12Long Service Increment€80,758

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 Long Service Increment is not an annual increment: it is paid only after 3 years of satisfactory service at the maximum of the scale, which is why it appears 3 years after the last point rather than the year after it.

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 hospital pharmacist earn in Ireland?
A basic grade pharmacist starts on €50,485 and reaches €79,217 at the top of the ordinary scale, with a long service increment of €80,758. A Senior Pharmacist runs from €77,045 to €89,345, Chief Pharmacist II from €85,300 to €107,662, and Chief Pharmacist I from €97,032 to €111,519. Figures are from the Health Sector Consolidated Salary Scales effective 1 June 2026.
What is the starting salary for a hospital pharmacist in Ireland?
€50,485 a year at point 1 of the scale that applies to appointments since 1 December 2022. Staff already in post before that are on a longer legacy scale starting at €43,040, which reaches the same maximum but takes twelve points to get there instead of nine.
How fast does the pharmacist scale climb?
Very fast by health service standards. The steps grow the whole way up, from €3,240 at the first to €3,834 at the last, with no flat stretch anywhere. Over nine points the salary rises €28,732, which is more than the entire basic grade range of most other health professions.
Why is one step on the Senior Pharmacist scale only €139?
It is the strangest step in the health service pay scales, and it is genuinely what the document says. Point 4 is €82,848 and point 5 is €82,987, a difference of €139. The steps around it are €1,129 before and €1,578 after, and the first step on the scale is €3,541. A pharmacist moving from point 4 to point 5 gains about €12 a month before tax.
Is it worth becoming a Senior Pharmacist?
The scales overlap. Senior starts at €77,045, which is below the basic grade's ninth point of €79,217 and below its long service increment of €80,758. A pharmacist at the top of basic grade would move across for less. The gain is the ceiling, €89,345 against €80,758.
How much does a chief pharmacist earn in Ireland?
Chief Pharmacist II runs from €85,300 to €107,662 and Chief Pharmacist I from €97,032 to €111,519. Above them the Consolidated Salary Scales list Pharmacist Executive Manager 2 and 3, reaching €134,413 and €142,525.
How long does it take to reach the top of the pharmacist scale?
9 years to the top ordinary point of €79,217, with the long service increment after 3 further years, so €80,758 arrives at 12 years.
How much ASC does a pharmacist pay?
A fair amount, because the scale passes €60,000 by point 4. 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% above.
Do community pharmacists earn the same as hospital pharmacists?
No. These scales apply to pharmacists employed in the public health service. Community and retail pharmacy is private employment and sits entirely outside this structure, so pay there is set by the employer rather than by circular.
When do HSE 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 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 →