Install Findmino as an app for the best experience!
(Administrative Assistant, Office Clerk, Clerical Assistant, Administrative Officer (Grade III))
Law & Public Service
Salary
€27,000 - €43,000/yr
Level
Operational
Outlook
Stable
Sector
Law & Public Service
As a Clerical Officer in the Irish Civil Service you carry out a wide range of administrative and clerical tasks that keep government departments and State agencies running smoothly. Your day-to-day work typically involves answering queries from members of the public, processing payments, maintaining accurate records, handling correspondence, and managing files both on paper and on digital systems. You work closely with colleagues at all grades, from fellow Clerical Officers up to Executive Officers and Higher Executive Officers, as well as with members of the public and external organisations. Roles exist across a huge variety of departments and agencies — from Revenue and the Department of Social Protection to the HSE, the Courts Service, and local government offices nationwide.
Listen: a day as a Clerical Officer (Civil Service)
Your alarm goes off at 7:15 a.m. You work in a regional office of the Department of Social Protection in Sligo town, and your contracted hours run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. You pack your lunch, knowing the canteen queue can be slow, and set off in good time. By 9:00 a.m. you are logged into the department's case-management system. Your first task is to work through a queue of online applications for a welfare payment that came in overnight. You check each application for completeness, flag any that are missing supporting documents such as a PPS number verification or a bank statement, and send out standard request letters using the department's correspondence templates. It is careful, methodical work and accuracy matters — an error here can delay someone's payment.
The standard entry route is through a public competition run by the Public Appointments Service (PAS), which typically requires a minimum of Leaving Certificate or equivalent NFQ Level 5 qualification. Subjects such as Business, Accounting, Irish, English, and ICT are useful preparation for the day-to-day work of the role. Candidates without a Leaving Certificate may qualify through a QQI Level 5 PLC award in Business Administration or a related area, available at Colleges of Further Education across Ireland. The selection process generally includes a written application, online tests (such as numerical and verbal reasoning), and a competency-based interview. No specific professional registration body is required, though new entrants must satisfy the Civil Service's fitness and probity requirements and may complete internal induction and on-the-job training. Proficiency in Irish can be an advantage, and some posts may require it.
Most Clerical Officers enter through an open PAS competition and spend their early years building experience across different sections within a department or agency. With a proven track record and through internal promotion competitions, progression to Executive Officer (EO) is a common next step, bringing greater responsibility for managing processes and smaller teams. From EO level, ambitious officers can progress further to Higher Executive Officer (HEO) and Administrative Officer (AO) grades over time, often supported by Civil Service-run training and development programmes. Some officers pursue part-time study — for example, a degree in Public Administration, Business, or Law at institutes such as UCD, DCU, or the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) — to strengthen their promotion prospects.
AI-powered tools are already being introduced into Civil Service workflows to automate routine tasks such as data entry, document classification, and the routing of standard queries, which will reduce the volume of purely repetitive work. Clerical Officers will increasingly be expected to oversee, check, and correct automated outputs rather than performing every step manually, raising the importance of judgement and accuracy. Chatbots and online self-service portals are handling more first-line public enquiries, shifting the human role towards complex or sensitive cases that require empathy, discretion, and contextual understanding. Overall, AI is likely to reshape rather than eliminate the role, with officers who adapt to new digital tools remaining highly employable.
→ Clerical Officer (Civil Service) (Current role)
Organisations in Ireland that employ people in this occupation.
Dublin / Nationwide (Intreo offices)
Process welfare claims, maintain records, handle public queries daily.
Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and regional offices
Administer tax records, correspondence, and taxpayer account processing.
Dublin and courthouses Nationwide
Manage court files, schedule hearings, and assist the public.
Dublin, Portlaoise, and regional offices Nationwide
Process farm payments, licensing applications, and departmental correspondence.
Dublin and Nationwide
Handle immigration files, visa queries, and administrative support tasks.
Nationwide
Support healthcare administration, patient records, and departmental filing.
Athlone, Co. Westmeath / Dublin
Process teacher payroll queries, school grants, and official correspondence.
Dublin Port, Rosslare, Shannon
Maintain customs records, data entry, and public-facing administrative duties.
Dublin / Wexford
Administer housing scheme records, planning files, and public correspondence.
Chapter House, Dublin 2
Recruit Clerical Officers; internal staff perform civil service administration.
Dublin / Consular offices Nationwide
Process passport applications, official records, and consular correspondence.
We don't know whether these employers currently have vacancies — always check their own website. And if there's somewhere you'd really love to work, it can be worth applying anyway, even without an open vacancy.
Our tools can help you with that:
We use functional cookies and — with your consent — cookies for preferences, statistics and marketing.