Galway County Council
Barry Horgan
Procurement Officer
bhorgan@galwaycoco.ie
Phone: 091 509280
Mobile: 087 2210139
County Hall
Prospect Hill
Galway
Public Procurement
 Excluding capital, the public service spends
€8.5bn every year on goods and services - or
roughly €23m every day and this fuels
about 13% of our economy.
 In 2014 local authorities will have spent
around €4.17 billion on goods & services
 This expenditure is funded by the Irish
taxpayer and represents a very significant
portion of overall Government spending
Revenue Expenditure 2014 – Excluding Water Services –
Main Spend Areas €’000
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Minor Contracts- Trade Services & Other Works
Materials
Hire (Ext) - Plant/Transport/Machinery & Equipment
Energy
Repairs & Maint - Buildings
Non-Capital Equip Purchase
Repairs & Maint - Plant
Consultancy/Professional Fees and Expenses
Printing & Office Consumables
Communication Expenses
Training
Computer Software and Maintenance Fees
Postage
Advertising
Insurance
Library Book Purchases
Legal Fees and Expenses
Cleaning
€20,209
€5,490
€3,800
€2,210
€2,001,
€1,162
€1,047
€950
€428
€407
€287
€2560
€225
€161
€161
€157
€116
€116
2014 Revenue-Expenditure – Spend
Distribution - €’000
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Galway
Dublin
Mayo
Cork
Other (Ireland)
UK
Other (Overseas)
€17,152
€7,918
€7,333
€552
€3,582
€241
€22
47%
21%
20%
2%
10%
1%
 Dublin includes most of the Utility payments (Energy,
Phones etc)
OGP
Office of Government Procurement
 The Government has identified Procurement as a key
public service reform programme
 OGP was launched in July 2013
 Operates as an office of the Department of Public
Expenditure & Reform
 Board is chaired by Minister of State
OGP
Office of Government Procurement
 Responsible for Public Procurement across all sectors
 Savings Target of €500million over three years -
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€127million in 2014
Transform existing fragmented procurement model &
replace with common policies, procedures & systems
Demand Aggregation – Realise Cost Savings - Reduce
Administration Costs
Identified 16 Main Spend Categories
Create 16 Category Councils
Category Councils
 The role of each Category Council is to decide how best to
source the goods or services in their category so as to both
meet the needs of customer organizations and achieve the
savings required by the State.
 Category Councils decide whether the public sector
should approach the market in one or more lots, what
specifications can/cannot be harmonized, how demand
can be controlled, market considerations etc.
 Each council is made up of members who are nominated
by the Departments and Agencies that are the main users
of the category. Each chaired by a Category Lead.
OGP – REFORM
60 %
of
spend
Who will buy what?
Where will you find Tenders?
 OJEU
 eTenders
 SupplyGov.ie
 eSourcingNI
 LA – Internal Procedures - Quotations
 Official Journal of the European Union
 Captures all Tenders over the EU thresholds:
Goods/Services: - € 134,000 - £111,676
II. Works: €5,186000 - £4,322,012
The EU Procurement Rules apply to public
authorities (as defined by the Public Sector
Procurement Directives 2004/18/EC & 2014/23EU)
I.
 eTenders is the Irish Governments web based
procurement portal
 Suppliers can view current opportunities on the portal
and then, if interested, register to respond to a
particular tender.
 All contracts over €25k (Goods & Services) and €50k
(Works) must be advertised on eTenders.
 Registration is free
 www.etenders.gov.ie
SupplyGov.ie
 Designed & maintained by Kerry County Council on behalf of the Local Authorities –
replaces LAQuotes.ie
 9 Main Frameworks for 2015/16
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
Plant Hire Services
Road Making Materials – Supply Only
Road Making Materials – Supply & Placement
Footway & Road Pavement Restoration
Ready-Mix & Concrete Additives (Supply only)
Voids Framework (2014) for a No of LAs
Electricians (2015)
Plumbers (2015)
IW Plant Hire Framework
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Local Authorities run Mini-Competitions run from Frameworks
 Quick Quotes facility available
eSourcingNI
 eSourcing NI is a web based portal which provides access to
Central Government procurement opportunities.
 Suppliers can view current requests for tender RFT’s on the
portal and then, if interested, register to respond to a
particular tender.
 It operates in a similar fashion to eTenders
 Registration is free
 www.e-sourcingni
LA – Internal GCC Regulations
 Less than €3,000 – Value for Money verified by Budget
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Holder – No written quotations required.
Between €3,000 & €15,000 – Written quotations from a
minimum of three suppliers.
From €15,000 to €25,000 – Quotations/Tender to be
invited by public advertisement or by letter from at
least six suppliers. Within this segment GCC
encourages the use of SupplyGov or eTenders.
Above €25,000 – Must be advertised on eTenders
Exception – Emergencies – Direct Invitation to Tender.
SME’s – Issues/Barriers
 The inability to participate due to the size of the contract
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being tendered
Disproportionate qualification requirements, in particular,
financial requirements
The lack of or poor quality information in tender
(RFT/RFQ) documents
The bureaucratic nature of the process and the
administrative burden of participation
The reluctance of public buyers to consider new
suppliers
Challenges for SME’s
 National Aggregation – Frightening – Challenging
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Opportunities
Consider – Joint Bids – share expertise
Research and evaluate the possibility of forming
Consortiums – Partnerships
Large Contracts will normally be divided into Lots – do
not overlook
Seek advice before responding to large Tenders – may
not be suitable to your company – avoid unnecessary
costs
Key issues for Suppliers
There are three steps in the public procurement process, regardless of the
procedure used Compliance, Selection, Award.
 Compliance - does the tender submission comply with all the
mandatory requirements of the tender documents.
 Selection – does the tenderer/candidate meet the Selection Criteria,
have they met the relevant pre-qualification criteria in order to be
evaluated under the award criteria, i.e. have they relevant Financial and
Technical qualifications.
 Contract Award is presently based on either Lowest Price or Most
Economically Advantageous Tender,(MEAT) which will consider
price and other factors such as Whole Life Cycle Cost and proposed
methodology and approach, running costs, after sales costs and
disposals costs.
KEY ISSUES FOR SUPPLIERS
Alerts - Notifications
 Ensure that you are registered with all the relevant
procurement portals –
a) eTenders.ie
b) SupplyGov.ie
c) eSourcing NI
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Check that you have specified the correct Category / Service
 With SupplyGov you will need to indicate what local authorities
you want to service.
PREPARE FOR SUCCESS
Manage your key information.
Maintain a Tender Content Library to include up-to-date
information consisting of:
Company organisation chart,
Financial Accounts/Statements,
Insurances,
Accreditation Documents,
References,
Key Staff Biographies,
Any other relevant information required on a regular basis.
Tips for Suppliers
 Know your strengths – when & where to compete
 Be selective – you won’t win every tender – preparing
bids can be expensive
 Build relationships – contacts – check for upcoming
possibilities
 Don't ignore small contracts – less than €25,000 are
sometimes awarded based on quotations.
 Access your competitors – can you compete?
KEY ISSUES FOR SUPPLIERS
Response to Tenders
• If in doubt contact the contracting authority for advice via
www.eTenders.ie postbox system
• Do not be afraid to ask questions, seek clarification in advance
of the closing date for questions
• The evaluation team can only assess your bid based on the
information you provided
• Review & Check your tender before submitting, put yourself in
the buyers seat while doing this.
• Keep your replies simple and relevant to the question
• Understand each specific Award Criteria that the tender will be
assessed on.
KEY ISSUES FOR SUPPLIERS
Target your replies
 Submit your tender in the format requested.
 Use reference numbers on your answers in the same
sequence as the RFT (Request for Tender)
 Pay particular attention to the Qualifying/Selection
Criteria. Remember, it won’t matter if you are the
cheapest if you miss the qualifying/selection criteria.
 If a signed & dated copy of a document is requested
then make sure that it is signed and dated.
KEY ISSUES FOR SUPPLIERS
Response to Tenders
 Read the entire RFT (Request for Tender) document
 Avoid panic and leave plenty of time to complete the
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Tender – take note of the closing dates & times
Ensure you understand the requirements
Set out a schedule to complete the RFT
Make a checklist/aide-memoire of documentation
requested if one is not provided by the contracting
authority.
Submit your Tender on time
Circular 10/14
 Circular 10/14 was issued by the Dept mainly to
reiterate the Government’s commitment to the SME
sector in terms of public procurement as stated in
Circular 10/10 and to outline the role of the new
Office of Government Procurement (OGP). New issues
addressed:
 Item 5.2 Publication of Contract Award Notices:
The directive states that Buyers (contracting
authorities) are required to publish all Contract Award
Notices over €25,000 on the eTenders website.
Circular 10/14 – SME’s
 Contracting Authorities to encourage SME’s to form Consortia
to bid for larger contracts
 Use “Open Procedure” for contracts below €134,000
 Set Capacity Levels proportionate to the size of the contract
 Documentary evidence should not be sought at an early stage
in the Tender process, instead a declaration should suffice.
 Twice the estimated value of the contract should be the norm
when setting turnover requirements
Remedies
S.I. No. 130 of 2010
 Applies to Contracts above the EU threshold.
 Standstill period before contract signing - Minimum
14 days after notification letter
 Unsuccessful Tenderers – are entitled to notification of
decisions reached in relation to tenders.
 Summary of the reasons for the rejection of his or her
tender.
 Characteristics and relative advantages of the tender
selected
Remedies
S.I. No. 130 of 2010
 Applies to Tenders above the EU Thresholds
 The name of the successful tenderer, or, in the case of a framework
agreement, the names of the parties to it
 The score obtained by the unsuccessful tenderer concerned and the
score obtained by the successful tenderer in respect of each criterion
assessed by the contracting authority.
 For contracts above the EU threshold a verbal debrief may also be
possible.
 Full text on Remedies is available at -www.etenders.gov.ie
Further Information
 Additional information in relation to Tendering or
Procurement Procedures /Policies contact me at:
Barry Horgan, Procurement Officer
Galway County Council
County Hall
Prospect Hill
Galway
bhorgan@galwaycoco.ie
091 509280