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Local authority Administrative Officer salary (Grade 7)

Grade 7 Administrative Officer is a senior management grade in an Irish county or city council. It shares a name with the civil service Administrative Officer but is a different job on a different scale, and this page keeps them apart.

The short answer

A newly qualified local authority administrative officer (grade 7) starts on €61,217 a year. After 15 years of service you reach the top of the scale on €79,583. Allowances for promoted posts and, for some teachers, qualifications are paid on top of these figures.

Starting salary
€61,217
about €3,755 a month take-home
Top of the scale
€79,583
about €4,491 a month take-home

Figures from Circular EL 04/2026, 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
€61,217

The full pay scale, every point

Grade 7 Administrative Officer, Senior Executive Librarian

The same scale covers Administrative Officer and Senior Executive Librarian across every county and city council.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€61,217€45,055€3,755
2€62,716€45,815€3,818
3€64,464€46,701€3,892
4€66,219€47,591€3,966
5€67,973€48,480€4,040
6€69,541€49,275€4,106
7€71,146€50,034€4,169
8€72,702€50,745€4,229
9€74,253€51,454€4,288
LSI 1€76,910€52,668€4,389
LSI 2€79,583€53,889€4,491

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.

What you earn in each year of your career

On the grade 7 scale scale you move up one point for each year of satisfactory service, with no skipped points. That means 15 years of service to reach the top.

Years of service Your point Gross salary
Year 1Point 1€61,217
Year 2Point 2€62,716
Year 3Point 3€64,464
Year 4Point 4€66,219
Year 5Point 5€67,973
Year 6Point 6€69,541
Year 7Point 7€71,146
Year 8Point 8€72,702
Year 9Point 9€74,253
Year 12Long Service Increment 1€76,910
Year 15Long Service Increment 2€79,583

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 Grade 7 Administrative Officer earn in a council?
A Grade 7 Administrative Officer starts on €61,217 a year and reaches €74,253 at the top of the ordinary scale. The two long service increments then bring it to €76,910 and finally €79,583. Figures come from Circular EL 04/2026, effective 1 June 2026.
Is a local authority Administrative Officer the same as a civil service Administrative Officer?
No. They share a title but are different jobs with different scales and different entry routes. A local authority Grade 7 Administrative Officer is a senior council manager starting on €61,217 and reaching €79,583. A civil service Administrative Officer is a graduate policy entry grade in a government department, starting much lower at €41,176 but on a longer scale that reaches €76,546. One is entered mainly by promotion, the other mainly by graduate competition.
What is the starting salary for a Grade 7 in a council?
€61,217 a year at point 1. That is above the top of the Grade 6 ordinary scale, which is €66,677 only at its maximum, so the grades overlap and placement on promotion depends on where you were coming from.
How long does it take to reach the top of the Grade 7 scale?
9 years to reach the top ordinary point of €74,253. The first long service increment follows after 3 further years at the maximum and the second after 6, so €79,583 arrives after 15 years in total.
What comes above Grade 7 in a local authority?
Senior Executive Officer, which also covers County and City Librarian and the senior accountant roles, running from €82,595 to €109,155 with both long service increments. Above that sits Director of Service, from €115,332 to €136,300, and then the Chief Executive of the council.
What are LSI1 and LSI2?
Long service increments. They are not ordinary annual increments: LSI1 is paid after 3 years of satisfactory service at the maximum of the scale and LSI2 after 6 years. Together they add €5,330 above the last ordinary point of the Grade 7 scale.
How much ASC does a Grade 7 pay?
The full scale is above the exemption. Nothing is charged on the first €34,500, then a Single Public Service Pension Scheme member pays 3.33% up to €60,000 and 3.5% on everything above, which covers almost the whole of this scale.
How much does a council Chief Executive earn?
It depends on the size of the local authority, and the range is wide. Dublin City is €241,361. Cork County, Fingal and South Dublin are €206,636. Cork City, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Kildare and Meath are €195,411. The larger county councils are €181,649, and the smaller ones €168,954.
How do you become a Grade 7 Administrative Officer?
Through competitions run by the individual local authority or by the Local Government Management Agency, with internal streams open to serving Grade 6 staff and open streams advertised publicly.
When do local government 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 a new circular is 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 2026-08-13.

More public sector pay:

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