Average Director of Research Salary in Ireland for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Director of Research salary for 2026 in Ireland and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Euro. To keep things simple, we are using the EUR currency code instead of the currency symbol €.

How Much Does a Director of Research Make in Ireland?

A Director of Research working in Ireland will typically earn around 52,300 EUR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 23,600 EUR to the highest average salary of 78,700 EUR.

These are average salaries for a Director of Research in Ireland and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Director of Research to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Director of Research salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Director of Research Salaries in Ireland

So we've looked at the average salaries a Director of Research will earn in Ireland. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Director of Research can earn between 23,600 EUR and 78,700 EUR on average in Ireland. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Director of Research in Ireland is 53,300 EUR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 53,300 EUR, and 50% of the population earn more than 53,300 EUR.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Director of Research salary in Ireland, 25% of the population are earning less than 35,100 EUR while 75% of the population earn more than 35,100 EUR.

75% of the population earn less than 65,900 EUR, and 25% of the population earn more than 65,900 EUR.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

Director of Research Salary by Experience Level in Ireland

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average Director of Research salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

• 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Director of Research in Ireland that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 29,300 EUR.
• 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Director of Research salary would increase to 36,200 EUR.
• 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Director of Research, the average salary would be 51,500 EUR.
• 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 64,900 EUR.
• 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Director of Research with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 69,200 EUR.
• 20+ Years Experience. For a Director of Research with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 73,500 EUR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

Director of Research Salary by Education Level in Ireland

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Director of Research in Ireland based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

• Certificate or Diploma. A Director of Research in Ireland with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 36,200 EUR.
• Bachelor's Degree. A Director of Research in Ireland with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 51,800 EUR.
• Master's Degree. A Director of Research in Ireland with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 79,600 EUR.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Director of Research Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Ireland, a male director of research will earn an average of 51,300 EUR, while a female director of research will earn around 50,500 EUR.

This means that a male director of research earns approximately 2% more than a female director of research for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Ireland

Director of Research Average Pay Raise in Ireland

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Director of Research in Ireland is around 13% every 16 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Ireland is around 9% every 16 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 13 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 10%

What this means is that a Director of Research in Ireland can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 10% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Ireland for 2026

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Ireland.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Director of Research Bonus and Incentive Rates in Ireland

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Director of Research is a high bonus based job, with 82% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

18% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 5% to 9%.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Ireland earn approximately 12% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Director of Research

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Director of Research in Ireland.

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Ireland, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.