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Physiologist pay in Ireland

Three different professions, one set of numbers. And unusually for the health service, every grade here carries two long service increments rather than one.

The short answer

A newly qualified physiologist starts on €45,224 a year. After 14 years of service you reach the top of the scale on €66,708. Allowances for promoted posts and, for some teachers, qualifications are paid on top of these figures.

Starting salary
€45,224
about €3,078 a month take-home
Top of the scale
€66,708
about €3,987 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
€45,224

The full pay scale, every point

Physiologist

Eight ordinary points and then two long service increments. Cardiac, neurophysiology and respiratory physiologists are all published on this scale.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€45,224€36,931€3,078
2€47,501€38,088€3,174
3€49,561€39,134€3,261
4€50,496€39,609€3,301
5€51,535€40,137€3,345
6€54,323€41,554€3,463
7€56,067€42,440€3,537
8€57,853€43,347€3,612
LSI 1€62,306€45,607€3,801
LSI 2€66,708€47,839€3,987

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 Physiologist

Six ordinary points and two long service increments. The first point sits below where the basic grade finishes once its increments are counted.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€55,665€42,235€3,520
2€57,295€43,063€3,589
3€59,032€43,946€3,662
4€60,817€44,852€3,738
5€62,667€45,790€3,816
6€64,385€46,661€3,888
LSI 1€68,634€48,815€4,068
LSI 2€72,890€50,831€4,236

This scale is shared with other professions

Physiologist is not paid on a scale of its own. The figures above are identical, point for point, to those for radiographers and audiologists. On the same point of the same grade, all of them are paid exactly the same amount. The discipline changes the work and the qualification, not the money.

Cardiac Physiologist, Neuro-Physiologist and Respiratory Physiologist are published on identical scales, point for point, at every one of the four levels. Long service increments are marked in the source only by being printed in bold, and here the document marks two of them on every grade rather than the usual one. The source does not state how long you must sit at the maximum before each, so the years shown in the progression are the site's usual assumption of three and six, not a published figure.

What you earn in each year of your career

On the physiologist scale you move up one point for each year of satisfactory service, with no skipped points. That means 14 years of service to reach the top.

Years of service Your point Gross salary
Year 1Point 1€45,224
Year 2Point 2€47,501
Year 3Point 3€49,561
Year 4Point 4€50,496
Year 5Point 5€51,535
Year 6Point 6€54,323
Year 7Point 7€56,067
Year 8Point 8€57,853
Year 11Long Service Increment 1€62,306
Year 14Long Service Increment 2€66,708

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 cardiac physiologist earn in Ireland?
From €45,224 at the first point to €57,853 at the top of the ordinary scale, then two long service increments taking it to €62,306 and finally €66,708. These are the HSE rates effective 1 June 2026.
Do neurophysiologists and respiratory physiologists earn the same?
Yes, exactly the same. Cardiac Physiologist, Neuro-Physiologist and Respiratory Physiologist are on identical scales at every level, from the basic grade through Senior to Chief I and Chief II. Three professions, one set of numbers.
Why are there two long service increments?
That is how the scale is published, and it is unusual: most health grades have one or none. Every physiologist grade carries two, worth €4,453 and then a further €4,402 on the basic scale. It means the grade keeps rising for years after the ordinary points run out.
What does a Senior Physiologist earn?
From €55,665 to €64,385 over six ordinary points, then long service increments of €68,634 and €72,890. Note that the first Senior point is below the €66,708 a basic physiologist can reach on their second increment, so a long serving physiologist can be promoted onto less.
What is the highest a physiologist can earn?
€85,524, at the second long service increment of Chief Physiologist II. That puts the top of this profession close to an Advanced Nurse Practitioner, who reaches €89,894.
How long does it take to reach the top of the basic scale?
About seven years to reach €57,853 at the top of the eight ordinary points. The two long service increments come after further periods at the maximum, so the full climb to €66,708 takes considerably longer.
How does physiologist pay compare to a staff nurse?
A physiologist starts higher, €45,224 against €38,166, and finishes much higher: €66,708 against €56,592 once both have their long service increments. The gap is roughly €10,000 at the ceiling before any move into management.
When do these rates change next?
These are effective 1 June 2026 under the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026, which is in its final year. The next change depends on the successor agreement, and we update this page when revised 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 2026-08-18.

More public sector pay:

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