R€

Psychologist salary in Ireland

Psychology has one of the steepest scales in the Irish health service: eleven points that climb by nearly €40,000, then two long service increments on top. Clinical, educational and counselling psychologists are all paid identically.

The short answer

A newly qualified psychologist starts on €63,222 a year. After 17 years of service you reach the top of the scale on €108,234. Allowances for promoted posts and, for some teachers, qualifications are paid on top of these figures.

Starting salary
€63,222
about €3,839 a month take-home
Top of the scale
€108,234
about €5,582 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
€63,222

The full pay scale, every point

Psychologist (clinical, educational, counselling)

Eleven ordinary points then two long service increments. Clinical, educational and counselling psychologists are listed on identical figures in the Consolidated Salary Scales.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€63,222€46,071€3,839
2€67,244€48,110€4,009
3€70,102€49,557€4,130
4€73,088€50,921€4,243
5€76,057€52,278€4,356
6€78,998€53,622€4,468
7€82,704€55,316€4,610
8€87,056€57,304€4,775
9€92,207€59,658€4,972
10€97,424€62,043€5,170
11€101,673€63,984€5,332
LSI 1€104,951€65,482€5,457
LSI 2€108,234€66,983€5,582

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.

Principal Clinical Psychologist

Five ordinary points then two long service increments, topping out just under €136,000.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€117,272€71,113€5,926
2€120,079€72,396€6,033
3€122,897€73,684€6,140
4€125,688€74,959€6,247
5€127,796€75,923€6,327
LSI 1€131,873€77,786€6,482
LSI 2€135,950€79,649€6,637

Long service increments in the source document are marked only by being printed in bold. Both of these scales carry two, identified from the font rather than by counting points.

What you earn in each year of your career

On the psychologist scale you move up one point for each year of satisfactory service, with no skipped points. That means 17 years of service to reach the top.

Years of service Your point Gross salary
Year 1Point 1€63,222
Year 2Point 2€67,244
Year 3Point 3€70,102
Year 4Point 4€73,088
Year 5Point 5€76,057
Year 6Point 6€78,998
Year 7Point 7€82,704
Year 8Point 8€87,056
Year 9Point 9€92,207
Year 10Point 10€97,424
Year 11Point 11€101,673
Year 14Long Service Increment 1€104,951
Year 17Long Service Increment 2€108,234

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 psychologist earn in Ireland?
In the public health service a psychologist starts on €63,222 and reaches €101,673 at the top of the ordinary scale, with two long service increments taking it to €104,951 and then €108,234. A Principal Clinical Psychologist runs from €117,272 to €135,950. Figures are from the Health Sector Consolidated Salary Scales effective 1 June 2026.
What is the starting salary for a psychologist in Ireland?
€63,222 a year at point 1. That is the highest entry point of any health and social care profession on this site: a social worker starts on €51,127, a physiotherapist on €45,514 and a staff nurse on €38,166.
Do clinical, educational and counselling psychologists earn the same?
Yes. The Consolidated Salary Scales list Psychologist (Clinical), Psychologist (Educational) and Psychologist (Counselling) on identical figures at every point, from €63,222 to €108,234. The discipline changes the work, not the pay.
How steep is the psychology pay scale?
Steeper than almost anything else in the health service. From point 1 to point 11 the salary rises by €38,451, an average of €3,845 a step. The shape is unusual too: the first step is €4,022, the middle of the scale flattens to around €2,900 a year, and then it accelerates sharply to a largest step of €5,217 between points 9 and 10. The slow years come before the fast ones.
How long does it take to reach the top of the psychology scale?
11 years to the top ordinary point of €101,673. The first long service increment follows after 3 further years at the maximum and the second after 6, so €108,234 arrives after 17 years in total.
How much does a principal psychologist earn?
Between €117,272 and €127,796 across five ordinary points, then €131,873 and €135,950 with the two long service increments. The grade starts well above where the main psychology scale finishes, so unlike many health promotions there is no overlap at all.
How does psychology pay compare to medicine?
A psychologist at the top of the ordinary scale on €101,673 is close to a Senior Registrar doctor on €102,619, so the two ladders finish at a similar place. But a consultant starts on €238,221, more than double the psychology ceiling including both increments, and a Principal Clinical Psychologist at €135,950 does not reach it either.
How much ASC does a psychologist pay?
A substantial amount, because the whole scale is above €60,000 from point 1. 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% on everything above, which covers most of this scale.
Is psychologist pay the same across the health service?
Yes. The Consolidated Salary Scales are national and apply in HSE and Section 38 employers alike, with no Dublin weighting. Psychologists employed elsewhere in the public service, for example in education or justice settings, may sit on different scales set by their own employer.
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 →