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Job Market Research›Ireland›Mental Health & Counselling

Mental Health & Counselling jobs in Ireland for international graduates

Check the job market before you choose the course.Real jobs and pay for your field, and how to stay on to work.

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Mental Health & CounsellingPublic Health & Allied Health · Ireland
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Job market at a glance

The jobs Mental Health & Counselling leads to, added together. Each label compares Mental Health & Counselling with the other Irish fields.

Work permits issued vs last year+36.3% WeakDETE
Job vacancies vs last year+29.2% StrongCSO
Hirings vs last year+17.8% StrongCSO
Non-EU workers employed vs last year-6.7% WeakCSO
Job vacancy rate1% WeakCSO
Average pay in these sectors€45,100 WeakCSO
Pay of new starters in these sectors€38,100 ModerateCSO
Indian nationals, weekly pay€870 a week CSO
Other non-EU nationals, weekly pay€796 a week CSO
All jobs in Ireland, growth to 2028+5.1% Central Bank
Change since Apr–Jun 2025+23.9% StrongCSO
People in these jobs18,917 StrongCSO
Jobs with roles on the Critical Skills list67% StrongDETE

Pay, work permits, vacancies and hirings are for the sectors where graduates of this subject work (CSO graduate data).

Jobs this degree leads to

The jobs Mental Health & Counselling courses most often lead to in Ireland, and how each one is doing.

JobSharePublic pay scale HSE / Dept of EducationEmployment permit DETE
1.Therapy professionals n.e.c.—Critical Skills, some roles
2.Counsellors—Not eligible
3.Nurses and midwives€38,166 – €56,592Critical Skills
4.Psychologists—Critical Skills, some roles
5.Welfare professionals n.e.c.—Not eligible
6.Health services and public health managers and directors—Critical Skills, some roles
7.Health associate professionals n.e.c.—Mostly not eligible

Share: how common each job is among Mental Health & Counselling destinations. Public pay scale: the official public-sector salary scale for this job, from the starting point to the top. Private employers set their own pay.

What graduates like you earned

Master's graduates who studied Mental Health & Counselling or a related Health and welfare subject, working after graduating. Earnings are published for Health and welfare as a whole.

International graduates earnedtypical pay, Class of 2024, about 9 months after graduating€35,000–€39,999 HEA
International graduates earning €40,000 or moresame survey45% HEA
All master's graduates in Ireland earnedaverage, 1 year on · middle half €38,000–€63,400€46,300 CSO
All master's graduates in Ireland, 5 years ongraduates of 2018€58,800 CSO

International figures are for all Health and welfare graduates. Based on 790 graduates. CSO figures cover master's and postgraduate-diploma graduates of Irish institutions who were under 28 when they graduated; most are Irish, and graduates without a PPS number are not included. HEA figures come from a survey of the Class of 2024 about 9 months after graduating, and may include some pay earned abroad.

Staying to work after you graduate

How international students stay to work in Ireland after studying Mental Health & Counselling.

1
Finish your course

A master's or postgraduate diploma (Level 9) from an Irish institution.

2
Stamp 1G (Third Level Graduate Programme)
up to 24 months ISD / DETE

to stay and work full time in Ireland after a Level 9 award, with no employment permit needed. You get 12 months at first, renewed for 12 more if you show you are looking for graduate work. Apply within 6 months of getting your results.

3
Employment permit

Critical Skills permit: for jobs on the Critical Skills Occupations List, paying at least €40,904 (€36,848 if you graduated in the last 12 months), with a job offer of at least 2 years. Any job paying over €68,911 also qualifies unless it is on the Ineligible list. After it you can apply for long-term residence (Stamp 4).

General permit: for most other jobs, paying at least €36,605 (€34,009 if you graduated from an Irish institution in the last 12 months). The employer usually has to advertise the job first. Jobs on the Ineligible Occupations List cannot get a permit.

Mental Health & Counselling jobs an employer can get a permit for DETE67%

67% have roles on the Critical Skills list.

International Health and welfare graduates earning €40,000 or more HEA45%

The Critical Skills minimum is €40,904, or €36,848 for recent graduates.

Mental Health & Counselling in other countries

Typical pay for the same jobs (in US dollars in brackets, at June 2026 exchange rates), projected growth, and post-study work after a master's.

Ireland€45,100 ($52,500)Growth +5.1% (2025–28) · Stamp 1G 24 monthsUnited Kingdom£43,800 ($59,000)Growth +10% (2025–35) · Graduate visa 18 monthsUnited States$60,800Growth +12.9% (2025–35) · OPT 12 months, 36 with the STEM extensionCanadaCA$77,100 ($55,500)Growth +20.3% (2023–33) · PGWP up to 36 monthsAustraliaAU$112,500 ($80,300)Growth +25.3% (2025–35) · 24 monthsGermany€61,000 ($71,000)Growth +4.1% (2023–40) · 18 months

Questions students ask

How much do Mental Health & Counselling graduates earn in Ireland?

International graduates in Health and welfare typically earned €35,000–€39,999 about 9 months after graduating (Class of 2024), and 45% earned €40,000 or more. All master's graduates in Ireland earned €46,300 one year after graduating. In the sectors where these graduates work, average pay is €45,100 and new starters earn about €38,100.

Is Mental Health & Counselling in demand in Ireland?

About 18,917 people work in these jobs. All jobs in Ireland are projected to grow 5.1% from 2025 to 2028.

Can I stay and work in Ireland after a Mental Health & Counselling master's?

Yes, for up to 24 months on Stamp 1G after a master's. To stay longer, an employer can get an employment permit for 67% of these jobs; a Critical Skills permit needs pay of at least €36,848 for recent graduates.

Where these numbers come from

Every figure comes from an official Irish source. Tap a source tag next to any number for its details.

Irish post-study (Stamp 1G) and employment permit rules (manually verified)Immigration Service Delivery (Department of Justice); Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment — transcribed and verified by UNIFER · Government of Ireland copyright — reproduction permitted with acknowledgement of the source · loaded 12 Oct 2026
Higher Education Outcomes — graduate earnings by field, NFQ level and years since graduation (HEO12)Central Statistics Office, Ireland · CC BY 4.0 · loaded 28 Sept 2026
Graduate Outcomes Survey, Class of 2024 — salary of international-domiciled Masters Taught and Postgraduate Diploma graduates by field (dashboard)Higher Education Authority (transcribed from the HEA dashboard by UNIFER) · Higher Education Authority — figures quoted with attribution · loaded 28 Sept 2026
Employment permits — Critical Skills Occupations List and Ineligible Occupations ListDepartment of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Ireland · Government of Ireland copyright — reproduction permitted with acknowledgement of the source · loaded 28 Sept 2026
Labour Force Survey — persons in employment by citizenship and NACE Rev 2.1 sector (QLF59)Central Statistics Office, Ireland · CC BY 4.0 · loaded 28 Sept 2026
Labour Market Churn — hirings by NACE Rev 2 sector (JCQ01, CSO Frontier Series)Central Statistics Office, Ireland · CC BY 4.0 · loaded 28 Sept 2026
Central Bank of Ireland Quarterly Bulletin — Labour Market Forecasts (employment)Central Bank of Ireland · Central Bank of Ireland copyright — figures quoted with attribution · loaded 28 Sept 2026
Public-sector pay scales — HSE consolidated salary scales and Department of Education post-primary teacher salary circularHealth Service Executive; Department of Education, Ireland · Government of Ireland copyright — reproduction permitted with acknowledgement of the source · loaded 28 Sept 2026
Employment permit statistics — permits issued by sector, monthlyDepartment of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Ireland · Government of Ireland copyright — reproduction permitted with acknowledgement of the source · loaded 5 Oct 2026

Indicative figures from official Irish sources. They describe groups of graduates and workers, not what any individual will earn or be offered. Visa rules change — check irishimmigration.ie and enterprise.gov.ie before you decide.