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Senior Staff Officer salary (Grade 6)

Grade 6 Senior Staff Officer sits between Staff Officer and Administrative Officer in an Irish local authority. It is the grade where the scales start to overlap awkwardly with the one below, which matters if you are weighing up a promotion.

The short answer

A newly qualified senior staff officer (grade 6) starts on €58,474 a year. After 11 years of service you reach the top of the scale on €71,437. Allowances for promoted posts and, for some teachers, qualifications are paid on top of these figures.

Starting salary
€58,474
about €3,639 a month take-home
Top of the scale
€71,437
about €4,181 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
€58,474

The full pay scale, every point

Grade 6 Senior Staff Officer, Executive Librarian, Senior Legal Assistant, Clerk of Works, Building Inspector

One scale covers a wide spread of roles at this level, from Senior Staff Officer and Executive Librarian to Clerk of Works and Building Inspector.

Point Gross / year Take-home / year Take-home / month
1€58,474€43,662€3,639
2€59,869€44,371€3,698
3€61,570€45,234€3,769
4€64,767€46,855€3,905
5€66,677€47,823€3,985
LSI 1€69,051€49,027€4,086
LSI 2€71,437€50,167€4,181

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 6 scale scale you move up one point for each year of satisfactory service, with no skipped points. That means 11 years of service to reach the top.

Years of service Your point Gross salary
Year 1Point 1€58,474
Year 2Point 2€59,869
Year 3Point 3€61,570
Year 4Point 4€64,767
Year 5Point 5€66,677
Year 8Long Service Increment 1€69,051
Year 11Long Service Increment 2€71,437

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 Senior Staff Officer earn in a local authority?
A Grade 6 Senior Staff Officer starts on €58,474 a year and reaches €66,677 at the top of the ordinary scale. The two long service increments then bring it to €69,051 and finally €71,437. Figures come from Circular EL 04/2026, effective 1 June 2026.
Is moving from Grade 5 to Grade 6 worth it?
It depends entirely on where you are on the Grade 5 scale, and this is the awkward part. Grade 6 starts on €58,474, which is above the Grade 5 starting point of €52,761 but below the top of the Grade 5 scale once its long service increments are counted, which reaches €63,109. A Grade 5 with long service could in principle move to a Grade 6 point that pays less, so placement on the new scale is what matters.
What is the starting salary for a Grade 6?
€58,474 a year at point 1 of the scale. Where a promoted officer is actually placed depends on their existing salary, since the rules do not allow a promotion to reduce pay.
How long does it take to reach the top of the Grade 6 scale?
5 years to reach the top ordinary point of €66,677. The first long service increment follows after 3 further years at the maximum and the second after 6, so €71,437 arrives after 11 years in total.
Why is there such a large jump between points 3 and 4?
The increments on this scale are uneven. Most steps are between €1,400 and €1,900, but the step from point 3 to point 4 is €3,197, by far the largest on the scale. It is the single biggest annual increase a Grade 6 receives.
What comes after Grade 6?
Grade 7 Administrative Officer, starting on €61,217 and running to €79,583 with both long service increments. Above that is Senior Executive Officer, from €82,595 to €109,155.
What are LSI1 and LSI2?
Long service increments, paid for time served at the maximum of the scale rather than as ordinary annual increments. LSI1 comes after 3 years at the maximum and LSI2 after 6. Between them they add €4,760 above the last ordinary point.
How much ASC does a Grade 6 pay?
The whole scale is above the exemption threshold of €34,500, so ASC applies throughout. A Single Public Service Pension Scheme member pays 3.33% up to €60,000 and 3.5% above, which most of this scale exceeds.
How do you become a Grade 6 Senior Staff Officer?
Through competitions run by the individual local authority or by the Local Government Management Agency, with internal streams open to serving Grade 5 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 replaces 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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