Promotion in The Irish Civil Service
There are two routes to promotion:

• External via the Civil Service-wide promotion process, and
• Internal via the promotion processes within individual Departments.

External
The recruitment, assessment and selection body for the Civil Service is the Public Appointments Service (PAS). They advertise and arrange:

• Open Competitions (open to existing Civil Servants and non-Civil Servants)
• Special Open Competitions relating to specific groups e.g. disabled persons
• Confined competitions which are open to existing Civil Servants only.

Internal
An interview-based system operates for promotion. This comprises of a competency-based competitive interview, for all grades up the level of Principal Officer.

Top Level Appointments Commission
The selection process for senior appointments at or above Assistant Secretary level or equivalent is conducted by a Top Level Appointments Commission.

Further information in relation to the TLAC is available here 

Circulars 34/96, 32/91, 33/99 and 17/03 refer.

Starting Pay on Promotion
The rules governing starting pay on promotion to a higher grade are set out in Circular 34/77 refers – Starting Pay on Promotion or Establishment. Civil Servants promoted through internal confined competitions are entitled to the more favourable of the following:

• The minimum point of the new scale.
• Pay equivalent to their existing pay, including their accrued increment on the current scale, if any, plus an immediate increment on the new scale.

Civil Servants recruited from external competitions under Public Appointments Service (PAS) are entitled to the more favourable of the following:

• The minimum point of the new scale.
• Pay equivalent to their existing pay including any accrued increment.

Personal enquiries from individual officers should be referred to the officer’s own Personnel Section.