The first step for all procurement requirements is to check the OGP’s website https://ogp.gov.ie/ at planning stage to see what is available under existing frameworks and arrangements and, where appropriate, to access the supporting documentation and user guides.  Engage early with OGP Customer Support (support@ogp.gov.ie) to discuss your procurement needs and ensure timely submission of completed PSR and SRFT documentation as required.  Completed documentation is processed through the system to the relevant Category Team to assess whether the request can be undertaken by drawing down off a framework agreement or other arrangement, running a bespoke competition, providing triage support or advising the customer to self-procure.  Decisions are processed back through the OGP Customer Support desk to the customer.

Note: The EPS may need to contact the public sector body’s Procurement and Contracts Office and/or the budget holder/end user in order to gather more information about the project requirement to make a more informed decision about the most suitable arrangement.

E-Tenders is the electronic portal through which all electronic public sector tendering is managed in Ireland. Tenderers (Suppliers) interested in tendering for Irish public sector procurement requirements should firstly register as a supplier on E-Tenders

It is advised that tenderers/suppliers also familiarise themselves with EU Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) codes. This is the EU-wide standard classification coding system used by public sector bodies to best describe the nature of goods and services being procured for every contract requirement.

When registering, suppliers should select those CPV codes which best reflects their nature of business. This will ensure that they receive a customised daily tender update that reflects requirements in their industry/area of expertise that they may subsequently tender for. See attached SIMAP-CPV link breaking down the CPV coding classification system.

Follow the instructions found here on eTenders platform

They apply to procurement by all public sector bodies, such as Government Departments/Offices, local and regional authorities, health authorities, commercial and non-commercial State bodies. Also, most works and related services contracts awarded by a private entity, which are subsidised 50% or more by a public body, are covered by the EU Directives if they exceed the EU thresholds. Contracts below the EU thresholds which are funded or part-funded from public funds, awarded by private sector entities, should, as far as possible, be awarded in accordance with the national guidelines.

The basic principle of public procurement is that there should be a competitive documented process. The type of process will depend on the value and nature of the requirement.  There is a legal obligation to engage in a competitive process for contracts above EU thresholds and award them in accordance with procedures set out in EU public procurement Directives.

There is a legal obligation to advertise contracts above the EU thresholds in the OJEU. All public contracts above €50,000 should be published on www.etenders.gov.ie. Etenders web site is the main point of reference for entities interested in Irish public sector contracts.

Advertising contracts above €50,000 on etenders is a requirement of Department of Finance Circular 05/2023.

Circular 05/2023 is designed to further enable SMEs in competing for public contracts and replaces
Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circular 10/2014.

Find more information here: https://www.gov.ie/en/circular/9e7bf-circular-05-2023-initiatives-to-assist-smes-in-public-procurement/

A sample RFT can be viewed on www.etenders.gov.ie Contract notices on the website will also have tender documentation attached which can be viewed for guidance. New  template RFT’s for supplies and services frameworks and contracts, along with supporting contract documents, are updated regularly.

Public Procurement Directives are EU rules which impose legal obligations on public bodies (contracting authorities) in member states to advertise contracts for works, supplies and services, above certain thresholds, in the Official Journal of the EU. The directives set out procedures for awarding contracts designed to ensure open, transparent and fair competition.

The EU Procurement Directive thresholds are available to download here from the OGP website.

gov.ie – Thresholds (www.gov.ie)

The vast majority of public contracts above the relevant thresholds are subject to the provisions of the EU public procurement directives. There are very limited exceptions, for example in the areas of Defence and State security. Some services, annexed to the directives and listed in Appendix IIB of the Competitive Process Guidelines, are not subject to the full provisions of the directive and advertising in the OJEU is not obligatory. However, it is national policy to advertise such contracts of significant value as part of a competitive process. They must also be awarded in accordance with EU Treaty principles of transparency (this implies appropriate advertising), non-discrimination on the grounds of nationality, freedom to provide services, freedom of establishment.

Under the revised directives, publication of a PIN is not mandatory. However, where estimated annual requirements are in excess of €750,000 for similar categories of supplies or services, publication is encouraged as an aid to transparency and as a means of enabling suppliers and service providers to prepare in advance to tender for upcoming contracts. Contracting authorities who publish a PIN with the required amount of information can avail of shortened minimum times for submitting expressions of interest or tenders. A “purchaser profile” with the necessary amount of information published on a website and notified via a brief notice in the OJEU fulfils the same function as a PIN published in the OJEU.

Estimates of costs must be realistic and it is advisable to take a conservative approach.  If tenders received are priced above EU thresholds, a contracting authority must be able to justify its original estimate if it awards a contract without OJEU advertising.

The directives make provisions for awarding a contract (without advertising) and for accelerating an advertised procedure in urgent and exceptional circumstances.  However, ‘urgency’ and ‘exceptional circumstances’ are very narrowly interpreted by the European Court and the EU Commission. The instances where resort to these provisions is justified will be very rare and maximum care must be taken before availing of them. The exceptional circumstances / urgency must have been unforeseeable and must not have arisen due to any action or inaction on the part of the contracting authority.

Post – tender negotiation is prohibited under EU rules as it diminishes transparency and can give rise to abuses in the tendering process. The system is designed to operate on the basis that tenderers submit their most competitive bid in response to the specifications set out in an RFT. Where contracting authorities cannot specify requirements precisely enough to allow the submission of priced tenders, the rules permit the use of a negotiated procedure. Negotiation must be carried out on a fair basis with the highest possible degree of transparency.

It is possible to extend contracts in certain circumstances. The circumstances in which extensions to contracts may be negotiated are set out in the EU Directives. As a general rule the provisions confine extensions to 50% of the original value of contracts. Therefore contracting authorities should be prudent and anticipate, as far as possible, all potential requirements before advertising.

The GPA (Government Procurement Agreement) is a formal agreement concluded by a number of member States of the World Trade Organisation, including the EU, to observe an open and non – discriminatory public procurement policy and practice among its signatories. The provisions of the EU Directives and the GPA are closely harmonized. Almost all public contracts are covered by the GPA. The principal exceptions are service contracts of public bodies for research and development and contracts placed by entities in certain utility sectors (i.e. gas, heat, oil and railways), which are covered by the EU Directives only. The slight variation in coverage gives rise to the application of different thresholds, as indicated in Appendix I of the Competitive Process Guidelines.

For contracts below the EU thresholds there are no prescribed time limits. Sufficient time must be allowed for suppliers to prepare tenders. The complexity of a project/contract should be taken into account when deciding the response duration to a competition. For contracts above EU threshold the procurement directive advertising rules apply.

Contracting authorities are strongly advised to complete and publish their notices online via www.etenders.gov.ie or the EU public procurement website http://SIMAP.europa.eu

There is guidance for users in completing online publication on both websites.

The ‘Common Procurement Vocabulary’ (CPV) is a code for describing works, supplies and services to be advertised in the OJEU. It is available on http://simap.ted.europa.eu/. It can be best viewed or downloaded in ‘Excel’. (There is a link to the EU site on www.etenders.gov.ie).

The Irish Regulations (implementing the Remedies Directive) provide for a minimum standstill period of fourteen (14) days where notification in compliance with the Irish Regulations is sent by fax or electronically and a minimum standstill period of sixteen (16) days where notification is by any other means.  The standstill period starts of the day after the day on which the notification is sent.  The purpose of a standstill period is to allow for effective pre contract remedy to disappointed tenderers and the contracting authority may not conclude a contract with an identified preferred bidder during this time.

The 2016 Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies requires all non-commercial State bodies to complete a Corporate Procurement Plan (CPP). The Code states that the plan should set practical strategic aims and objectives for improved procurement outcomes and also that appropriate measures should be implemented to achieve these aims. The CPP template developed by EPS for Education Sector bodies will enable the institution to set out its strategic approach to procurement and also provide guidance on its corporate governance and controls as a key enabler for achievement of the strategic objectives. The CPP template sets out the actions that need to be implemented to maintain a professional and compliant procurement function, whilst achieving value for money and ensuring transparency.  The plan sets out targets for delivery over the next three years under a clear framework for procurement throughout the institution.

Having a CPP in place recognises the importance of using efficient procurement procedures and is an important step in raising awareness of strategic procurement. The CPP should be made widely available in the organisation and be reviewed annually with progress recorded on the key performance indicators.

An essential element of the CPP is the planning of the institution’s future procurement requirements.   This will be facilitated by annually producing a three-year rolling Multi-Annual Procurement Plan or “MAPP”. The completed MAPP can be used to support the budgeting process, inter-departmental collaboration and allow for the strategic planning and supplier management for the aggregated procurement requirements across the many departments and units of the organisation.  The completed MAPP provides a comprehensive perspective on the procurement arrangements in place across the institution including the contract type e.g. if it is covered under a National Framework Agreement.  It supports good planning by identifying upcoming contract expiry dates allowing time for a new contract to be in place to facilitate the continued supply of such goods and services without disruption or delay.  Check the OGP website (https://bz.procurement.ie/) to see if a framework is in place, the drawdown options available and indication of time required for completion, pending complexity of tier level or bespoke requirement. Engage early with OGP Customer Support (support@ogp.gov.ie] for assistance with planning.

Completed education MAPPs are submitted to Corporate Services at EPS. The data is aggregated and analysed to represent the Education Sector in the central procurement model to ensure adequate scope of requirements are included in planning of future frameworks and arrangements. EPS carries out a detailed analysis of the data, mapping it under the 16 categories of spend of the centralised model and produces reports for the three-year forecast of Education Sector requirements.  These reports are an essential component to good planning and EPS is committed to working on behalf of Education Sector bodies to deliver increased benefits.

The Multi-Annual Procurement Plan (MAPP) template should be completed and updated on an annual basis and should be based on projected procurement for a rolling three year period. The Plan once completed should be submitted by all Higher Education Institutions to EPS by no later than 1^st November each year. Please contact EPS at mapp@educationprocurementservice.ie for submission details.

Education and Training Boards submit to ETBI, please contact ETBI at procurement@etbi.ie for submission details.

Please feel free to contact EPS on 061-233715 or email: mapp@educationprocurementservice.ie to request the latest MAPP template.

ETBs can contact ETBI on 045-901070 or email: procurement@etbi.ie

The spend threshold for which all contracts for goods and services must be advertised on eTenders is €50k (exclusive of VAT). To accommodate instances where contracts could run for up to 5 years, if total forecasted spend over the 3 years period 2023-2025 is approaching €30,000, it should be included in the MAPP. Please refer to your institution’s completed Corporate Procurement Plan for guidance.

There may be instances where the volume of procurement transactions is high but the value is less than €50,000 and placing such procurement under a Framework may provide efficiencies throughout the Public Sector.  Therefore it is often wise to include these transactions for visibility purposes.  This may also support the institution’s strategic procurement planning and supplier management.

Please note that whilst additional columns may be added to the MAPP template for internal monitoring purposes, only the columns of the MAPP template in its original format are to be submitted to the Education Procurement Service for collation as any deviation from the original template may skew the input of information into the database.

Please ensure that the estimated figures do not include VAT when populating the estimated contract value.

Please ensure to provide all the information requested under each column across all rows of data entry.  Missing data will mean gaps in the detail required to produce an accurate analysis of the spend, contract position and other critical information in the aggregated forecast of requirements.  Please give further information specific to the requirement under ‘Comments’ in Column Q. The more information we receive the more accurate analysis we can draw from the data.