If you have been searching for prep material for a publicjobs.ie competition and landed on a UK-focused test platform, you will already know the problem. The numerical questions use pounds. The SJT format is multiple-choice, not ranked-answer. There is no reference to the Capability Framework that actually drives Irish assessments. That is not a minor quirk - it is the whole point.

This page explains the four main entry grades, what the publicjobs.ie process looks like at each level, what the assessments actually test, and how to practise in a way that matches the real Irish format. For a step-by-step walk through how a competition actually runs, see the publicjobs.ie application process guide.

The four main grades at a glance

Irish civil service grades explained simply: CO is the entry point, EO is the main promotional step, HEO is the mid-management layer, and AO is the graduate stream that runs alongside the internal ladder.

Grade	Full title	Min. eligibility	Starting salary (approx.)
CO	Clerical Officer	Leaving Certificate	~€31,495
EO	Executive Officer	Leaving Certificate	~€38,419
HEO	Higher Executive Officer	Usually EO + experience	~€59,435
AO	Administrative Officer	Level 8 Honours degree (1st or 2nd class)	~€40,768

Salary figures are published on the publicjobs.ie career path page and reflect Forsa scales effective June 2026. Scales run to LSI2 (long service increments) over time - always check the current competition booklet on publicjobs.ie for exact figures, as they update with pay agreements.

Clerical Officer (CO): the widest open door

The CO competition is a large-volume campaign, typically attracting thousands of applications. Eligibility is open to anyone with Leaving Certificate level, so it is genuinely accessible - but “accessible” does not mean easy to place well on. The full CO competition guide covers every stage in detail.

What the assessment includes:

The CO online assessment covers numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, a checking test, and a categorising test. The checking test is the one that catches people off guard. Each question auto-advances after 20 seconds. You cannot go back. That pace is harder than it sounds when you have not practised it under time pressure. The numerical section is where ranking points are most frequently lost - the numerical reasoning practice page covers the format and question types used at CO level.

Being placed on the CO panel is not a job offer. Publicjobs.ie is explicit about this. Your order of merit (OOM) position determines how quickly you are likely to be called - but panel active periods are typically around 18 to 24 months, and Dublin panels tend to move faster than regional ones. A high panel number in a county area can mean a very long wait.

Temporary vs. permanent: Temporary Clerical Officer campaigns and permanent campaigns run separately and have different implications for pensionability and continuity. Read the competition information booklet carefully before you apply.

Executive Officer (EO): where most people focus their energy

The EO competition is where candidates already in at CO level aim for progression, and where graduates who want a structured entry point without needing a primary degree for the AO route often start. The full EO competition guide covers stages, salary, and what strong preparation looks like.

Eligibility is again Leaving Certificate level, so you do not need a degree. What you do need is a strong performance across all assessment stages, because ranking, not just passing, determines your panel position.

What the assessment includes:

The EO online assessment is understood to include verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, and a Situational Judgement Test (SJT). The verbal section is demanding on time - approximately 59 questions in 35 minutes based on third-party prep sources, though you should verify exact conditions in the official EO information booklet on publicjobs.ie before your competition. The SJT is the part most candidates underestimate.

The Irish SJT is not a UK-style SJT. UK platforms serve you four options and ask you to pick the best one. The publicjobs.ie SJT asks you to rank all four courses of action in each scenario. That changes the scoring entirely. Getting one option right by accident is not enough - the ranking has to reflect how the 2024 Capability Framework maps to each scenario. Practising on a UK bank will not prepare you for that.

The first time I sat an SJT I ranked largely on instinct and assumed common sense would carry me through. It does not, and the ranking format means small misjudgements across multiple scenarios compound quickly in the final score.

For deeper preparation on the verbal section - which drives your EO order of merit alongside the SJT - the verbal reasoning practice page goes into the format in detail. The situational judgement test page covers ranked-answer SJT scoring and how the Capability Framework maps to each scenario.

Higher Executive Officer (HEO): mostly an internal route

Open HEO competitions are rare. The more common route is promotion from EO level through an interdepartmental or internal competition. When open HEO competitions do run, the assessment is understood to include verbal and numerical reasoning sections, a Situational Judgement Test, and further stages including a capability-based interview and often an e-tray or presentation exercise. The process is more demanding than CO or EO level. The full HEO competition guide covers what each stage involves.

If you are a current EO preparing for an HEO competition, the job simulation test preparation page covers what e-tray and work sample exercises look like and how to approach them.

Administrative Officer (AO): the graduate entry route

The AO competition requires a minimum Level 8 Honours degree, first or second class. This blocks many experienced CO and EO candidates from the AO route, which is why the EO competition matters so much as a progression path for people already inside the service. The full AO competition guide explains who is eligible, what the stages involve, and what the e-tray exercise actually looks like.

The AO process includes online aptitude tests plus a capability-based interview, and often a presentation or analysis exercise. The assessment is more involved than EO level, and the interview stage is substantial.

Starting salary for AO is approximately €40,768 - lower than HEO, which surprises some people, but the AO scale runs to a similar endpoint as HEO over time.

For interview preparation, the public service competency interview page covers what capability-based interviews look like and what the framework expects at each level.

Why Irish-specific practice matters

Most of the prep material that comes up in a Google search is built for the UK market. The numerical questions use pounds and pence. The verbal reasoning format may differ. The SJT is almost always multiple-choice. None of this reflects what you will actually face on a publicjobs.ie competition.

PublicServicePathway is built specifically for the Irish format: ranked-answer SJTs mapped to the 2024 Capability Framework, euro-denominated numerical questions, and verbal reasoning in the format used at CO and EO level. It is not affiliated with publicjobs.ie or the Public Appointments Service - it is independent practice built by someone who has been through the process first-hand, more times than is probably wise.

How it compares:

	PublicServicePathway	JobTestPrep	careerservices.ie style
Irish SJT format (ranked)	Yes	No - UK multiple choice	Yes
Euro-denominated numerical	Yes	No	Yes
Capability Framework aligned	Yes	No	Varies
Price	Free taster, then €39/month or €149/year	Higher, UK-focused	~€199/year per grade
Start tonight	Yes - no card needed	Card required	Workbook, not practice

Who this is for

Ciara is already a CO and going for the EO. She needs realistic SJT practice in the ranked format, and she needs her numerical scores to be strong enough to rank well, not just pass. The CO vs EO comparison covers exactly what changes between the two assessments.

Daniel is a graduate who has not been through publicjobs before and does not have anyone at work to ask. He needs to understand which grade he is even eligible for - the civil service eligibility guide is the right starting point - then practise all three sections before his first competition.

Orla has already been placed on a panel but is now facing the competency interview before she is called forward. The public service interview preparation page is where she should go next.

How to start

The free taster at psp-taster.pages.dev gives you a sample of the SJT and numerical sections with no card required. It takes about 20 minutes and gives you a realistic sense of where you stand before the real competition opens.

If you want the full practice bank - all sections, all grades, with detailed explanations - see the pricing page. The monthly option at €39 is designed for candidates who know their competition date and only need a few weeks of focused work. The annual option at €149 undercuts the main Irish incumbent by €50 and covers you for the full panel cycle. For an honest breakdown of what Irish test prep options cost and which are worth it, the civil service test prep cost guide compares everything available.

Check publicjobs.ie directly for current open competitions, exact eligibility conditions, and the official information booklets. Those booklets are the ground truth on timing and format - and they are worth reading end to end before you start practising.

Irish Civil Service Grades Explained: CO, EO, HEO and AO