Cleaning Tenders in Ireland: Complete Guide to eTenders & OGP

How Public Sector Cleaning Procurement Works in Ireland

Public sector cleaning contracts in Ireland are procured through a structured, regulated process governed by EU and Irish procurement law. The key legislation is the European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 284 of 2016), which transposed the EU Public Procurement Directive 2014/24/EU into Irish law.

All public bodies — government departments, local authorities, the HSE, schools, universities, state agencies, and semi-state bodies — must follow these procurement rules when buying cleaning services. The rules exist to ensure fair competition, transparency, value for money, and equal treatment of all bidders.

In practice, there are two main routes to winning public sector cleaning work:

1. Individual tenders published on eTenders for specific contracts (a particular building, campus, or hospital)
2. Framework agreements managed by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) that pre-approve suppliers for call-off contracts across government

Both routes are competitive. The days of getting cleaning contracts through personal connections or informal arrangements with public bodies are over. Everything goes through a formal process. If you want public sector cleaning work, you need to master the tender process.

eTenders: The Official Procurement Portal

eTenders (www.etenders.gov.ie) is the Irish government’s official electronic tendering platform. All public procurement opportunities above certain thresholds must be published here. Registration is free and open to any business.

How to Register on eTenders

1. Go to www.etenders.gov.ie and click “Register”
2. Complete your company profile: legal name, CRO number, address, contact details
3. Upload your tax clearance certificate (or access code for Revenue online verification)
4. Select your CPV codes (see below) to receive automatic notifications when relevant tenders are published
5. Complete your ESPD (European Single Procurement Document) profile — this is a standard self-declaration form used across all EU tenders

CPV Codes for Cleaning Services

CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) codes classify the subject of every public tender. Setting up the right CPV alerts ensures you see every relevant cleaning opportunity. The key codes are:

We recommend setting alerts for at least 90910000 and 90911200 as a minimum. These will capture the majority of cleaning contract opportunities.

OGP Commercial Cleaning Framework

The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) manages a multi-supplier framework agreement for commercial cleaning services. This is one of the largest cleaning procurement mechanisms in Ireland, with an estimated annual value of approximately €88 million.

For a detailed breakdown of the OGP framework structure, eligibility, and application process, see our dedicated OGP commercial cleaning framework guide.

How the Framework Works

The OGP framework is not a contract in itself — it is a pre-qualification mechanism. Once a cleaning company is admitted to the framework, individual public bodies can award cleaning contracts (called “call-offs” or “mini-competitions”) to framework suppliers without running a full tender process from scratch.

This benefits cleaning companies because:

• You go through the full qualification process once, not for every contract
• Framework call-offs have shorter timelines and simpler procedures
• Public bodies are required to use the framework where one exists, creating a guaranteed pipeline of opportunities
• Being on the framework is a credential that builds credibility with other clients

Lot Structure

The OGP cleaning framework is typically divided into lots by contract value and/or geographic region to allow companies of different sizes to participate. A typical structure might include:

• Lot 1: Contracts up to €50,000/year — designed for smaller, regional cleaning companies
• Lot 2: Contracts €50,000–€200,000/year — mid-size companies with multi-site capability
• Lot 3: Contracts €200,000–€1,000,000/year — larger national operators
• Lot 4: Contracts over €1,000,000/year — major national and international cleaning groups

You only need to qualify for the lot(s) matching your capacity. A company with 20 staff and regional coverage should target Lot 1 and potentially Lot 2, not overreach into lots requiring national coverage and hundreds of operatives.

Tender Evaluation Methodology

Public sector cleaning tenders in Ireland use the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) evaluation criteria. The lowest price does not automatically win. Tenders are scored on a weighted combination of quality and price.

Typical Quality/Price Split

The most common weighting for cleaning tenders is:

• 60% Quality / 40% Price — the most common split for medium-value contracts
• 70% Quality / 30% Price — used for high-risk environments (healthcare, pharma, data centres)
• 50% Quality / 50% Price — used for straightforward, commoditised cleaning

The quality criteria typically include:

Required Certifications and Insurance for Tendering

Before you can submit a cleaning tender, you need the following in place:

Mandatory Requirements

• Tax clearance certificate — available from Revenue. Without this, you are automatically disqualified. Apply via ROS (Revenue Online Service).
• Company registration — registered with the Companies Registration Office (CRO). You will need your CRO number.
• Public liability insurance — minimum €6.5 million. Some tenders require €10 million or €13 million. See our cleaning company insurance guide.
• Employer’s liability insurance — minimum €13 million (strongly recommended and standard industry practice).
• ESPD (European Single Procurement Document) — completed and signed. This is a standardised self-declaration used across all EU public procurement.

Commonly Required

• Safe Pass certification for staff working on construction, healthcare, or government sites
• Garda vetting arrangements through the National Vetting Bureau for staff working in healthcare, education, or with vulnerable persons. See our Garda vetting guide.
• Quality management certification (ISO 9001) — not always mandatory but strongly preferred and often scored in evaluation
• Environmental management certification (ISO 14001) — increasingly required, especially for government contracts with sustainability targets
• Professional indemnity insurance — minimum €1.3 million, required for contracts involving consultancy or specialist services

Nice to Have

• ICCA (Irish Contract Cleaning Association) membership
• ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety)
• ISSA CIMS (Cleaning Industry Management Standard)
• Green cleaning certification or Carbon Pledge commitments
• BICSc (British Institute of Cleaning Science) trained staff

How to Write a Winning Tender Response

Writing a competitive tender response is a skill. Many cleaning companies lose contracts not because they are poor at cleaning, but because they are poor at writing about cleaning. Here is how to build a strong submission.

1. Read the Entire Tender Document

Before writing anything, read every page of the tender documents. Understand exactly what is being asked, what the evaluation criteria are, and what the mandatory requirements are. Highlight every question, every requirement, and every compliance statement. Missing a single mandatory requirement can lead to disqualification.

2. Answer What They Ask, Not What You Want to Say

Every question in a tender is mapped to evaluation criteria. Answer the specific question asked. If they ask for your approach to quality management, describe your quality management system — not your company history. If they ask for three references, provide exactly three, not two or five.

3. Be Specific and Detailed

Vague statements score poorly. “We provide high-quality cleaning” scores zero. “Our operatives follow a 47-point daily cleaning checklist, with supervisory audits conducted twice weekly using the BICSc auditing methodology, achieving a minimum 92% quality score on our last 12 audits” scores well. Numbers, frequencies, percentages, and methodologies demonstrate competence.

4. Show Your Methodology

Include detailed cleaning schedules. Show shift patterns. Specify which tasks are daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly. Name the cleaning products and equipment you will use. Explain your approach to colour-coded cleaning systems (see our colour-coded cleaning guide). Describe how you manage consumable stock.

5. Demonstrate ERO Compliance

Public sector buyers are increasingly focused on ensuring cleaning contractors pay their staff properly. Include a statement confirming compliance with the Employment Regulation Order. Some tenders now ask for evidence of the rates you pay. Be prepared to share anonymised payroll data.

6. Provide Strong References

Choose references that are similar in size, complexity, and sector to the contract you are tendering for. A hospital cleaning reference is worth more for a healthcare cleaning tender than a residential reference. Ensure your referees know they may be contacted and will respond positively.

7. Price Competitively, Not Cheaply

The lowest price does not win in MEAT evaluation. A competitively priced tender with a high quality score will beat a rock-bottom price with a weak quality submission. Price your tender to deliver the service sustainably while maintaining margins. Factor in annual ERO increases, staff cover for absence, and materials. See below for more on pricing strategy.

Common Disqualification Reasons

Cleaning companies are disqualified from tenders more often than you might think. The most common reasons are:

1. Late submission. eTenders closes at the exact deadline. One minute late and your tender is rejected automatically. The system does not make exceptions.
2. Missing mandatory documents. Tax clearance, insurance certificates, ESPD — if any mandatory document is missing, you are out. Check the requirements list three times before submitting.
3. Exceeding page limits. If the tender says 10 pages maximum, page 11 will not be read and will not be scored. Exceeding word or page limits can lead to disqualification or having excess content removed from evaluation.
4. Not answering the questions. Generic company brochures pasted into tender responses score zero. Answer the specific questions asked in the specific format requested.
5. Incomplete pricing schedule. Every cell in the pricing schedule must be completed. Leaving a cell blank, or entering “included” instead of a price, can lead to disqualification or your price being deemed non-compliant.
6. Abnormally low pricing. Public procurement law allows contracting authorities to reject tenders where the price appears abnormally low relative to the specification. If you price below the cost of paying ERO-compliant wages plus basic overheads, you may be challenged to explain how you can deliver the contract at that price.
7. Insufficient insurance. Insurance certificates that do not meet the minimum requirements, or that expire before the contract start date, will result in disqualification.
8. Conflicts of interest. Having a relationship with the contracting authority’s procurement team that creates a conflict of interest will invalidate your bid.

Pricing Strategy for Tenders

Your pricing needs to be competitive while covering all costs and delivering a sustainable margin. Here is how to build your tender price:

Bottom-Up Pricing Model

1. Calculate labour hours. From the specification, calculate the total cleaning hours required per week, per month, and per year. Account for daytime, unsocial hours (6pm–6am), and Sunday hours separately.
2. Apply wage rates. Use the ERO minimum as the floor, but consider whether you need to pay above it to attract and retain staff in the area. Apply the unsocial hours premium (€1.00/hr) and Sunday double time where relevant.
3. Add employer costs. PRSI (11.05%), holiday pay (8%), sick pay (per Sick Leave Act), and any company-specific benefits.
4. Add staff cover. Budget for 10–15% additional hours to cover annual leave, sick leave, and training days. This is the cost most cleaning companies underestimate.
5. Add materials and equipment. Cleaning chemicals, consumables, equipment maintenance, and replacement. Typically €0.50–€1.00 per hour worked.
6. Add supervision. Supervisor time for quality audits, staff management, training, and client meetings.
7. Add overheads. Transport, insurance, administration, uniforms, IT, management time.
8. Add margin. Industry standard net margin is 8–15%. Below 8% is unsustainable for most cleaning companies.

For a full cost analysis, see our commercial cleaning cost guide.

Private Sector Contract Acquisition

Not all cleaning contracts come through eTenders. The private sector — offices, hotels, factories, retail chains, property management companies — procures cleaning through a mix of informal quotes, competitive tenders, and broker procurement.

For practical advice on winning private sector work, see our guide on how to win cleaning contracts in Ireland.

The principles are similar: competitive pricing, professional presentation, proven capability, and strong references. However, private sector procurement is typically faster, less bureaucratic, and more relationship-driven than public sector tendering.