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Primary school teacher salary in Ireland

Primary teaching in Ireland does not pay an average salary, it pays a published scale. Your pay depends on one thing above all: which point of the scale you are on. This page has every point, what you take home from it, and the allowances that sit on top.

The short answer

A newly qualified primary school teacher starts on €45,833 a year. After 24 years of service you reach the top of the scale on €84,412. Allowances for promoted posts and, for some teachers, qualifications are paid on top of these figures.

Starting salary
€45,833
about €3,103 a month take-home
Top of the scale
€84,412
about €4,675 a month take-home

Figures from Circular 0055/2026, 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
€45,833

The full pay scale, every point

Entered teaching on or after 1 January 2011

This scale carries incremental skips at points 4, 8 and 12, so you move up faster than one point a year at three stages of your career.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€45,833€37,241€3,103
2€47,503€38,089€3,174
3€49,409€39,057€3,255
4 (skipped)€50,280€39,500€3,292
5€51,510€40,125€3,344
6€53,015€40,889€3,407
7€54,742€41,767€3,481
8 (skipped)€56,534€42,677€3,556
9€58,051€43,448€3,621
10€60,785€44,836€3,736
11€62,495€45,703€3,809
12 (skipped)€64,537€46,738€3,895
13€66,567€47,767€3,981
14€68,618€48,807€4,067
15€70,329€49,660€4,138
16€72,596€50,696€4,225
17€72,596€50,696€4,225
18€72,596€50,696€4,225
19€75,721€52,124€4,344
20€75,721€52,124€4,344
21€75,721€52,124€4,344
22€75,721€52,124€4,344
23€79,854€54,013€4,501
24€79,854€54,013€4,501
25€79,854€54,013€4,501
26€79,854€54,013€4,501
27€84,412€56,096€4,675

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.

Entered teaching before 1 January 2011

Qualification allowances continue to be paid to this group, and they can add several thousand euro a year. See the allowances section below.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€43,774€35,593€2,966
2€44,644€36,156€3,013
3€45,868€36,803€3,067
4€47,097€37,379€3,115
5€49,002€38,270€3,189
6€50,237€38,848€3,237
7€51,476€39,428€3,286
8€54,669€40,922€3,410
9€56,327€41,698€3,475
10€58,341€42,641€3,553
11€60,362€43,586€3,632
12€62,407€44,536€3,711
13€64,118€45,332€3,778
14€66,386€46,387€3,866
15€66,386€46,387€3,866
16€66,386€46,387€3,866
17€69,511€47,840€3,987
18€69,511€47,840€3,987
19€69,511€47,840€3,987
20€69,511€47,840€3,987
21€73,644€49,582€4,132
22€73,644€49,582€4,132
23€73,644€49,582€4,132
24€73,644€49,582€4,132
25€78,205€51,474€4,290

What you earn in each year of your career

For those on the 2011 entrants onward scale, points 4, 8 and 12 are skipped. When you are due to move to one of them you get one normal increment plus one skip, so point 3 leads to point 5, point 7 leads to point 9 and point 11 leads to point 13. That is why the top of the scale arrives after 24 years and not 27.

Years of service Your point Gross salary
Year 1Point 1€45,833
Year 2Point 2€47,503
Year 3Point 3€49,409
Year 4Point 5 skip€51,510
Year 5Point 6€53,015
Year 6Point 7€54,742
Year 7Point 9 skip€58,051
Year 8Point 10€60,785
Year 9Point 11€62,495
Year 10Point 13 skip€66,567
Year 11Point 14€68,618
Year 12Point 15€70,329
Year 13Point 16€72,596
Year 14Point 17€72,596
Year 15Point 18€72,596
Year 16Point 19€75,721
Year 17Point 20€75,721
Year 18Point 21€75,721
Year 19Point 22€75,721
Year 20Point 23€79,854
Year 21Point 24€79,854
Year 22Point 25€79,854
Year 23Point 26€79,854
Year 24Point 27€84,412

Rows marked skip are the years where you move up two points at once. The skipped points still exist on the scale with a value attached, you simply pass over them. Those on the pre-2011 entrants scale are not eligible for these skips and move one point a year.

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.

Qualification allowances

Qualification allowances were abolished for all new beneficiaries from 1 February 2012. If you started teaching on or after that date you do not get one, no matter what degree you hold.

Entered teaching before 1 January 2011

Only one allowance from group (a) or (b) may be held together with one allowance from (c) to (g).

Academic qualificationPer year
H. Dip. in Ed. (Pass), or Higher Froebel Cert.€740
H. Dip. in Ed. (1st or 2nd Hons), or Ard Teastas Gaeilge€1,550
Primary Degree (Pass)€2,312
Master's degree by thesis or exam (Pass)€6,175
Primary Degree (1st or 2nd Hons)€6,175
Master's Degree (1st or 2nd Hons)€6,898
Doctor's Degree€7,707

Entered teaching between 1 January 2011 and 31 January 2012

A much shorter list applies to this group.

Academic qualificationPer year
Master's Degree (1st or 2nd Hons)€726
Doctor's Degree€1,532

Other allowances

These are tied to the job or the workplace rather than your qualifications, and are paid on top of your point on the scale.

AllowancePer year
Teaching through Irish€1,986
Gaeltacht grant (where not on the 10% of scale salary allowance)€3,844
Island allowance€2,312
Diploma for Special Education€3,059
35 years' service allowance€2,915
Rule 87 (Higher Froebel Cert.)€1,799
Children's allowance€113

Substitute and casual rates

Casual and substitute staff are paid per day or per hour rather than on the annual scale. The second figure is the value of statutory annual leave accrued for each day or hour worked, paid on top.

CategoryScaleRateLeave accrued
Daily casual, qualifiedPre-2011 entrants€234.77€29.02
Hourly, qualifiedPre-2011 entrants€46.96€5.80
Daily casual, qualified2011 entrants onward€227.82€28.16
Hourly, qualified2011 entrants onward€45.57€5.63
Daily, unqualifiedEither€165.79€20.49
Hourly, unqualified on payrollEither€38.96€4.82
Hourly, unqualified substituteEither€33.16€4.10

An unqualified person teaching in a primary school on an annual basis does not go on the incremental scale. The rate is €39,837.

Questions people ask most

How much does a primary school teacher earn in Ireland?
It depends entirely on where you are on the pay scale, not on an average. A newly qualified primary teacher starts on €45,833 a year. At the top of the scale a teacher earns €84,412. Teachers who entered before 1 January 2011 are on a separate 25 point scale running from €43,774 to €78,205, with qualification allowances paid on top. These are the rates set by Circular 0055/2026, effective from 1 June 2026.
What is the starting salary for a primary teacher in Ireland?
€45,833 a year, which is point 1 of the scale for anyone who entered teaching on or after 1 January 2011. That is the full-time rate before allowances. An unqualified person teaching in a primary school is paid a flat €39,837 instead, and does not go on the incremental scale.
How long does it take to reach the top of the teacher pay scale?
For teachers on the 2011 scale it takes 24 years of service to reach point 27, the maximum. It is not 27 years, because the scale carries incremental skips at points 4, 8 and 12 which move you up an extra point three times during your career. Teachers on the pre-2011 scale reach the top, point 25, after 25 years.
What are incremental skips and how do they work?
Teachers on the 2011 new entrant scale skip points 4, 8 and 12 completely. When you are due to move to one of those points you receive one normal increment plus one skip, so you go from point 3 to point 5, point 7 to point 9, and point 11 to point 13. The skipped points still exist on the scale with a value attached, you simply pass over them. Teachers on the pre-2011 scale are not eligible for these skips.
When does my increment go up?
Once a year, on your incremental date, provided your service is satisfactory. Progression is one point a year except where a skip applies. Time on a career break or otherwise out of service is taken into account, so a break can push your incremental date back. If a skip was due but not applied before a career break, it must be applied first when you return to the payroll.
Do primary teachers still get qualification allowances?
Only if you started teaching before 1 February 2012. Qualification allowances were abolished for all new beneficiaries from that date. Teachers who entered before 1 January 2011 can hold substantial allowances, up to €7,707 a year for a doctorate, and those who entered between 1 January 2011 and 31 January 2012 have a much shorter list worth €726 or €1,532. If you qualified after that, your degree does not add anything to your salary.
How much does a school principal earn in Ireland?
A principal is paid their own point on the teacher scale plus a principal's allowance that depends on the size of the school. The allowance runs from €15,360 in the smallest schools to €49,052 in the largest. A deputy principal's allowance runs from €8,182 to €31,729. An Assistant Principal I receives €10,692 and an Assistant Principal II €4,730.
What is ASC and how much does it take off my pay?
The Additional Superannuation Contribution is a pension deduction paid by public servants on their pensionable pay. Nothing is charged on the first €34,500. Most teachers who started from 2013 onward are in the Single Public Service Pension Scheme and pay 3.33% between €34,500 and €60,000, then 3.5% above that. Teachers in pre-2013 schemes pay 10% and 10.5% on the same bands. ASC reduces your income tax but not your USC or PRSI.
How much does a substitute primary teacher get paid per day?
A qualified casual substitute on the 2011 scale is paid €227.82 a day, plus €28.16 in accrued statutory annual leave for each day worked. On the pre-2011 rates it is €234.77 a day plus €29.02. Unqualified substitutes are paid €165.79 a day plus €20.49.
Do teachers get paid during the summer holidays?
Teachers in permanent and contract posts are paid an annual salary spread across the full year, so pay continues through the summer. Casual and substitute teachers are paid per day or per hour worked instead, which is why their rates include a separate figure for the value of statutory annual leave accrued for each day worked.
Is the primary teacher salary the same everywhere in Ireland?
Yes. The scale is national and set by circular, so the same point pays the same amount in Dublin as in Donegal. There is no Dublin weighting. The extras that vary are allowances tied to the job rather than the place, such as the island allowance of €2,312 or the Gaeltacht grant of €3,844.
When do teacher salaries increase next?
The rates on this page come from the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026, which delivered a 1% increase on 1 June 2026. That agreement is in its final year, so the next set of rates will be decided by whatever agreement 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.

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