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Civil service pay scales in Ireland

The general service grades run across every government department, from Clerical Officer at the entry point to Principal Officer at senior management. Here is the whole ladder.

Every grade side by side

6 grades covered so far, ordered by starting salary. The ceiling column includes any long service increments, and the years column is how long it takes to get there.

Grade Starts on Ceiling Years to ceiling
Clerical Officer€31,811€49,85820 years
Executive Officer€38,803€63,22718 years
Administrative Officer€41,176€76,54616 years
Higher Executive Officer€60,029€76,54613 years
Assistant Principal€83,113€103,57612 years
Principal Officer€108,152€133,77511 years
Lowest entry point
€31,811

Clerical Officer, about €2,302 a month take-home.

Highest ceiling
€133,775

Principal Officer, reached after 11 years.

How pay works in this sector

Every grade here comes from the same circular and shares the same structure. Each carries two long service increments, LSI1 after three years at the maximum of the scale and LSI2 after six, which is why the published ceiling of a grade is always higher than its last ordinary point.

All figures are the PPC scale, meaning Personal Pension Contribution. It applies to anyone recruited since 6 April 1995, which is effectively everyone serving today. One quirk worth knowing: Clerical Officer is published as a weekly rate rather than an annual salary, so its official figure is €611.75 a week at point 1.

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