Comparing salaries: Dublin versus the rest of the country

For some professionals, the job prospects in Ireland are better than ever, and pay and conditions are a big part of this. “We are seeing a lot of growth in demand for surveyors, technical professionals, and people who can speak more than one language, as well as in the pharmaceutical industry,” says Adie McGennis, CEO of Sigmar Recruitment. “The big story this year, however, has been the growth in financial services, which is already a huge employer in Ireland (see case study below). Indeed, we are seeing a lot of traffic in professional financial services – especially from London to Dublin, post-Brexit – and many people are looking at coming back in the next three to five months.”

Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that employment has grown in 2016. Notwithstanding external shocks and the unknowns that Brexit, political uncertainty in the EU and President Trump may bring us, McGennis believes that there will be continued job growth in 2017.

“In terms of salary comparisons, Sigmar’s salary survey for 2016 showed Dublin as 15 per cent less expensive for a given role compared to London,” says McGennis. “We surveyed 100 companies and 63 per cent anticipated headcount growth over the next year, with 24 suggesting they will say the same size. Also, over half of respondents to the European graduate survey which stated that lifestyle was the number one or number two reason for being attracted to Ireland.”

Tax-free wages

Of course, when it comes to salary, Ireland will struggle to compete with certain destinations in the Middle East, which offer tax-free wages – but this has been the case since at least the 1980s, and there are cultural reasons why Irish people may not want to live long-term in some places like Saudi Arabia, where women can’t drive and alcohol is forbidden.

But it’s not all about the money. Workers also consider the quality of social services including health and education, and the housing and rental crisis here is hardly a pull factor?

“An employee coming from London to Ireland may not earn more, though the cost of living may be lower and they may have more disposable income,” says McGennis. “And I’d definitely rather be looking for a place to rent in Dublin than in, for instance, London.”

Okay, let’s get down to the brass tacks: how do the pay and conditions here compare with those abroad? The Sigmar Recruitment salary survey has details for Ireland. Meanwhile, Payscale offers useful international salary comparisons, although they tend to be broad ranges based largely on experience, so it is difficult to make accurate comparisons between Irish and international salaries here.

Experience

In Ireland, a person working in accounts receivable or payable, with five years experience, can earn €38,000+ in Dublin and €32,000+ in the rest of Ireland, while a tax accountant with the same experience can earn €60,000+ in Dublin and €50,000+ in the rest of Ireland. A fund accounting manager working in Ireland can expect to earn between €50,000-€65,000 and a portfolio or wealth manager can take in anywhere between €50,000-€80,000.

Architects are also in high demand in Ireland, and those working in Dublin, with five years experience or more, can take home €50,000+, while quantity surveyors can expect €55,000-€65,000.

Those working in technical support, with a language, can earn around €35,000-€38,000 in Dublin, while a software developer with five years or more experience will earn €55,000-€70,000 as a front-end developer. In the life sciences, a microbiologist in Dublin, with five years experience or more, will take €50,000+. A digital marketing executive with five years experience or more will see €45,000-€50,000, and a pharmaceutical sales manager in Ireland will have a basic of between €50,000-€70,000 with bonus potential to earn up to €90,000.

Senior legal counsel can expect between €80,000-€140,000 in Dublin and €55,000-€120,000 in the rest of the country.

McGennis projects that Sigmar will place 25 per cent more people in 2017 than they did in 2016. It might just be the right time to come home after all.

CASE STUDY: THE FINANCE INDUSTRY SOARS

Financial services, along with IT, surveying and multi-lingual sales and customer services are all huge growth areas in Ireland. One financial services firm, Investec, has recruited 45 new staff across 2016 in areas including corporate finance, treasury products and distribution, wealth and investment, institutional equities and support functions.

“Some of the staff have moved back to Ireland with us,” says Philip O’Sullivan, chief economist with Investec Ireland. “We are continuing to grow our presence with new avenues of business to support our client base, and there is an increasing need for talented people who have great experience both in Ireland and abroad. As the economy has strengthened, more of our emigrants have returned home. By April of 2014, only 11,600 Irish nationals [HAD]moved home [THAT YEAR]. By April 2016, 21,000 Irish people returned.”

The number of people leaving also fell over this time, and Brexit may see these trends intensify with many Irish workers living in the UK deciding to come home. “In terms of the relative attractiveness for people choosing between the two neighbours, while personal taxes in Ireland are high, they have reduced in the last three budgets,” says O’Sullivan. “In addition, the weak pound has reduced the attractiveness of sterling salaries relative to before the Brexit vote. Rents in Dublin are high, but the city compares favourably to London in terms of average commuting time – 50 minutes in Dublin versus 74 in London – and education provision.”