Every grade side by side
4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special Needs Assistant | €31,664 | €50,161 | 17 years |
| Primary school teacher | €45,833 | €84,412 | 24 years |
| School principal | €45,833 | €84,412 | 24 years |
| Post-primary teacher | €47,417 | €86,265 | 24 years |
Special Needs Assistant, about €2,293 a month take-home.
Post-primary teacher, reached after 24 years.
How pay works in this sector
Education is the sector where when you started matters most. Anyone appointed before 1 January 2011 is on an older scale and keeps qualification allowances worth up to €7,734 a year. Anyone appointed since is on the newer scale, which pays more at the bottom but carries no qualification allowances at all, because they were abolished for new beneficiaries from 1 February 2012.
The newer teaching scales also carry incremental skips at points 4, 8 and 12. When you are due to move to one of those points you get a normal increment plus a skip, so the top of the scale arrives after 24 years rather than 27. School leadership is paid differently again: a principal keeps their own point on the teacher scale and receives an allowance on top, set by the size of the school.