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Prison Officer pay in Ireland

Prison officer pay comes in two stages, and the jump between them is the largest single step in the job. On top of both sits an operational allowance that basic pay alone completely hides.

The short answer

A newly qualified prison officer starts on €37,161 a year. After 3 years of service you reach the top of the scale on €41,450. Allowances for promoted posts and, for some teachers, qualifications are paid on top of these figures.

Starting salary
€37,161
about €2,571 a month take-home
Top of the scale
€41,450
about €2,802 a month take-home

Figures from the Irish Prison Service Recruit Prison Officer competition booklet, effective 1 March 2025. Take-home is for a single person with standard credits, after income tax, USC, PRSI and ASC.

About the date of these figures

These are the rates the Irish Prison Service published with effect from 1 March 2025, taken from its own Recruit Prison Officer competition booklet, and they are the most recent prison officer scales we can reach. At least two general public service increases have applied since that date, so current pay is higher than every figure below. We have not applied those increases ourselves, because estimating a published figure is exactly what makes salary sites unreliable. Treat the euro amounts here as a floor, not as today's rate. What does not go out of date is the shape of the scale, the number of points, and the allowances, and those are the part almost nobody publishes.

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
€37,161

The full pay scale, every point

Recruit Prison Officer, PPC

The rate while you are a Recruit Prison Officer. Entry is at the minimum point. You move to the established scale below after completing one year of probation and the Higher Certificate in Custodial Care.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€37,161€30,848€2,571
2€38,442€31,678€2,640
3€41,450€33,627€2,802

Take-home assumes a single person with the personal and employee tax credits, no other income, and ASC at pre-2013 scheme rates. Your main superannuation contribution is deducted separately and depends on your scheme.

Established Prison Officer, PPC

Reached after three years of service including probation and the Higher Certificate in Custodial Care. Ten ordinary points, then a Long Service Increment.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€46,492€36,750€3,063
2€47,968€37,441€3,120
3€49,321€38,074€3,173
4€50,676€38,709€3,226
5€52,056€39,354€3,280
6€53,452€40,008€3,334
7€54,893€40,682€3,390
8€56,347€41,363€3,447
9€57,813€42,049€3,504
10€59,681€42,923€3,577
LSI€61,022€43,547€3,629

The step from the top of the recruit scale to the bottom of the established scale is <strong>€5,042</strong>, larger than any single increment on either scale. It is not automatic: it requires passing the <strong>Higher Certificate in Custodial Care</strong> and completing probation. These are PPC scales, meaning Class A PRSI, which applies to anyone recruited from 1995 onwards.

What you earn in each year of your career

On the recruit scale you move up one point for each year of satisfactory service, with no skipped points. That means 3 years of service to reach the top.

Years of service Your point Gross salary
Year 1Point 1€37,161
Year 2Point 2€38,442
Year 3Point 3€41,450

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.

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 prison officer earn in Ireland?
A Recruit Prison Officer starts on €37,161 and an Established Prison Officer runs from €46,492 to €59,681, with a Long Service Increment of €61,022 after that. Those are the rates the Irish Prison Service published for 1 March 2025 and current pay is higher. Basic pay is also only part of it: an operational allowance of 8% is paid on top, and night, weekend and public holiday work attracts premium payments.
What is the starting salary for a prison officer?
€37,161 as a Recruit Prison Officer, entering at the minimum point of a three point scale that reaches €41,450. You stay on that scale until you have completed probation and the Higher Certificate in Custodial Care.
What is the operational allowance for prison officers?
8% of annual salary, paid on top of the scale. On the first point of the established scale that is roughly €3,700 a year, and at the Long Service Increment roughly €4,900. It is a standing allowance rather than something you claim, which is why quoted basic pay understates what prison officers actually earn.
How long does it take to reach the top of the prison officer pay scale?
The established scale has ten ordinary points, so about ten years of service to reach €59,681, followed by a Long Service Increment of €61,022. Before any of that you spend time on the three point recruit scale, so the full journey from entry to the Long Service Increment is well over a decade.
What is the Higher Certificate in Custodial Care?
The qualification a Recruit Prison Officer must complete, along with probation, before being appointed as an established Prison Officer. It matters financially as well as professionally: it is the gate between a scale topping out at €41,450 and one starting at €46,492.
Do prison officers get paid extra for nights and weekends?
Yes. The Irish Prison Service states that work on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and nights attracts premium payments. Separately, the Additional Hours System allocates up to 360 extra hours a year, which also attract premium payments. The exact premium rates are not published in the recruitment material.
What is the Additional Hours System?
A scheme for extra attendance beyond normal hours, allocating a maximum of 360 hours per person per year. Lower allocations of 240 hours, 112 hours or none are also used. The hours attract premium payments, so the allocation an officer receives makes a real difference to annual earnings.
Do prison officers pay more pension contribution?
Yes. Prison officers are on a fast accrual pension scheme reflecting an earlier retirement age, so the Additional Superannuation Contribution exempts only the first €28,750 of pensionable pay rather than the usual €34,500, then charges 10% up to €60,000 and 10.5% above it.
Why are these figures dated March 2025?
Because that is the most recent prison officer scale the Irish Prison Service has published in a document we can reach, in its own recruitment booklet. General public service increases have applied since, so current rates are higher. We do not uprate published figures ourselves, since a number we calculated would look exactly like a number the employer published, and you would have no way of telling them apart.
How does prison officer pay compare to a Garda?
The two start in a similar place. A Garda begins on €39,194 on attestation against a Recruit Prison Officer's €37,161, though the Garda figure is more recent. Both are fast accrual pension schemes, and both jobs earn significantly above basic through allowances and premium hours rather than through the scale alone.

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.

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