How to Choose a Cleaning Company in Ireland: 10-Point Evaluation Framework (2026)

Why Choosing the Right Cleaning Company Matters

Your choice of cleaning company affects far more than the appearance of your premises. It impacts employee health and productivity, visitor perceptions, compliance with health and safety legislation, and your bottom line. A poor choice leads to constant complaints, high staff turnover on your site, compliance gaps, and the hidden cost of managing a failing relationship. A good choice delivers consistent quality, proactive communication, and one less thing for you to worry about.

The Irish commercial cleaning market is worth over €1.2 billion annually. There are hundreds of cleaning companies operating across the 26 counties, ranging from one-person operations to multinational corporations. The quality gap between the best and worst is enormous. This guide gives you a structured framework for evaluating cleaning companies and making a decision you will not regret.

Whether you are appointing a cleaning company for the first time, switching from a provider who has let you down, or re-tendering an existing contract, these ten criteria will help you separate the professional operators from the rest.

The 10-Point Evaluation Framework

Use these ten criteria to evaluate every cleaning company you consider. Score each provider out of 10 on each criterion for a total out of 100. This gives you an objective, comparable assessment rather than a gut-feel decision.

1. Insurance Coverage

Insurance is non-negotiable. Any cleaning company working on your premises must carry adequate insurance to protect both parties. The minimum levels you should accept in Ireland are:

• Public Liability Insurance — Minimum €6.5 million. This covers damage to your property and injury to third parties caused by the cleaning company or its staff. For healthcare, pharmaceutical, data centres, or high-value premises, require €10M or higher.
• Employer’s Liability Insurance — Minimum €13 million. This covers the cleaning company’s own staff in the event of workplace injury. It is a legal requirement under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.
• Professional Indemnity Insurance — Recommended for specialist cleaning services (data centre cleaning, pharmaceutical, heritage buildings). Covers claims arising from professional negligence.

Always request current certificates of insurance and check expiry dates. A reputable company will provide these without hesitation. If a company is evasive about insurance, walk away immediately. See our cleaning prices guide for how insurance costs affect pricing.

2. Garda Vetting

Cleaning staff have unsupervised access to your premises, often outside business hours. They have access to offices, desks, IT equipment, confidential documents, and personal belongings. Garda vetting is essential.

Under the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012, Garda vetting is legally mandatory for staff working in healthcare, education, childcare, and residential care settings. However, any professional cleaning company should vet all staff as standard practice, regardless of the setting.

Ask the cleaning company:

• Are all cleaning staff Garda vetted before assignment to client sites?
• Do you re-vet staff periodically? (Best practice is every 3 years.)
• How do you handle overseas staff who may not have an Irish vetting history?
• Can you provide evidence of vetting if requested by the client?

For more detail on vetting requirements, see our dedicated Garda vetting for cleaning staff guide.

3. Sector Experience

Cleaning an office is very different from cleaning a hospital, a hotel, a school, or a construction site. Each sector has its own standards, regulations, and challenges. A company that excels in office cleaning may be entirely wrong for healthcare cleaning.

Ask for specific experience in your sector. Request case studies or references from similar premises. A company that has cleaned 50 offices but never cleaned a medical centre should not be your first choice for a GP surgery.

Key sector-specific requirements include:

• Healthcare — HIQA standards, infection control, colour-coded cleaning, biohazard handling
• Hospitality — Guest-facing standards, turnaround cleaning, linen management
• Education — Child safeguarding, term-time schedules, holiday deep cleans
• Construction — Builders clean phases, Safe Pass requirements, dust control
• Retail — Trading-hours cleaning, customer-facing areas, high-traffic floor care

4. Staff Training Programme

The quality of cleaning is only as good as the people doing it. A professional cleaning company invests heavily in staff training. Ask about:

• Induction training — What does a new cleaner learn before they start on your site? This should cover health and safety, COSHH awareness, equipment operation, and customer service.
• Site-specific training — How are cleaners trained on the specific requirements of your premises? Building layout, security procedures, specialist equipment, and your cleaning specification.
• Ongoing training — Is there a programme of continued professional development? New techniques, new products, refresher courses, supervisory development.
• Specialist training — For specialist requirements such as COSHH compliance, healthcare cleaning, or working at height.

Ask the company to provide their training matrix or programme outline. A company that cannot describe its training approach in detail probably does not have one.

5. Quality Management System

How does the company ensure consistent quality? The best cleaning companies have a documented quality management system that includes:

• Regular audits — Supervisor or manager inspections of your premises at defined intervals (weekly, fortnightly, or monthly). Audits should be scored and documented.
• KPI reporting — Measurable performance indicators such as audit scores, complaint rates, response times, and staff attendance. These should be reported to you regularly.
• Complaint procedures — A clear, documented process for raising and resolving complaints. You should know who to contact, what the response time is, and how escalation works.
• Continuous improvement — Evidence that the company acts on audit findings and client feedback to improve service delivery.

For guidance on structuring quality agreements, see our cleaning SLA template.

6. TUPE Experience

If you are switching from an existing cleaning provider, TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) will almost certainly apply. The incoming provider must accept the existing cleaning staff on their current terms and conditions. This is governed by S.I. No. 131 of 2003 in Ireland.

An experienced cleaning company will manage the TUPE process smoothly. An inexperienced one can create legal liability for you and disruption to your service. Ask:

• How many TUPE transfers have you managed in the past 12 months?
• Do you have a dedicated person or process for managing TUPE?
• Can you provide a transition plan that includes TUPE timelines?

For comprehensive information, see our TUPE and cleaning contracts guide and our switching provider guide.

7. Client References

Any cleaning company should be able to provide references from current clients in your sector. Request at least three references and actually contact them. Ask the referees:

• How long have you used this company?
• Has the quality been consistent throughout the contract?
• How responsive are they to complaints or issues?
• Would you recommend them to a similar business?
• Is there anything you would change about the service?

Be cautious of companies that cannot or will not provide references. It may indicate high client turnover, which is itself a red flag.

8. Financial Stability

You need a cleaning company that will still be trading in 3 years. The cleaning industry has a high failure rate, and if your provider goes bust mid-contract, you face immediate disruption. Check:

• Company registration — Is the company registered with the CRO? How long has it been trading?
• Tax clearance — Can they provide a current Tax Clearance Certificate from Revenue? This is particularly important for public sector contracts.
• Accounts — Filed accounts are publicly available on the CRO website. Check for signs of financial distress.
• Credit rating — For larger contracts, a credit check through a provider like Vision-net or CreditSafe is worthwhile.

9. Contract Terms

Read the contract carefully before signing. Key terms to check include:

• Notice period — 30 to 90 days is standard. Longer than 90 days is unusual and should be questioned.
• Auto-renewal clauses — Does the contract automatically renew? What is the window for serving notice to prevent renewal?
• Price review mechanism — How and when can the provider increase prices? Annual CPI-linked increases are reasonable. Unilateral increases with 30 days’ notice are not.
• Break clause — Can you terminate early for persistent poor performance? What constitutes “material breach”?
• Trial period — Is there an initial period (4–12 weeks) during which either party can terminate with short notice?
• TUPE provisions — Does the contract address TUPE obligations at the end of the contract term?

10. Cultural Fit

This may seem soft, but it matters enormously. The cleaning company’s team will be a visible presence in your building. Their staff interact with your staff. Their account manager will be someone you deal with regularly. Consider:

• Did the company listen to your requirements during the survey, or did they try to sell you their standard package?
• Were they responsive and professional during the quotation process?
• Did they ask intelligent questions about your business, your challenges, and your priorities?
• Do they feel like a company you could build a productive working relationship with?

Red Flags: When to Walk Away

During the selection process, any of the following should cause you to eliminate a provider from consideration:

• No site survey — A company that quotes without surveying your premises is guessing. The price will be wrong, and the service will be wrong.
• Significantly cheaper than competitors — If one quote is 30% below the others, the company is either cutting corners on wages, insurance, or training, or they have misunderstood your specification. Either way, the service will suffer.
• Cannot provide insurance certificates — This is immediate disqualification. No legitimate cleaning company operates without insurance.
• No written contract — If a company will not put terms in writing, you have no protection when things go wrong.
• Vague about staffing — If they cannot tell you how many hours, how many staff, and who your supervisor will be, they have not planned the service properly.
• Pressure to sign quickly — “This price is only valid for 48 hours” is a sales tactic, not a business practice. A professional company will give you reasonable time to evaluate.
• No named account manager — If there is no single point of contact for your account, nobody owns your service quality.

Questions to Ask During the Site Survey

When a cleaning company visits your premises to survey and quote, use these questions to assess their competence and professionalism:

1. How many similar premises do you currently clean?
2. What insurance do you carry and can you provide current certificates?
3. Are all your staff Garda vetted?
4. What training do your cleaners receive before starting on a new site?
5. How do you manage quality? What is your audit frequency?
6. Who will be the supervisor for our site and how often will they visit?
7. Who is our named account manager and how do we contact them?
8. How do you handle complaints? What is your response time commitment?
9. What is your staff retention rate?
10. How have you handled TUPE transfers in the past?
11. What is included in the price and what is charged extra?
12. Do you offer a trial period?
13. Can you provide three references from similar clients?
14. What happens if a cleaner is sick? What is your backup procedure?
15. What cleaning products and equipment do you use? Are they included in the price?

ICCA Membership: What It Means

The Irish Contract Cleaning Association (ICCA) is the representative body for the professional contract cleaning industry in Ireland. ICCA membership is not mandatory, but it indicates a company that has met certain standards and is willing to be held accountable.

ICCA members are required to:

• Carry adequate public liability and employer’s liability insurance
• Comply with employment legislation including minimum wage, working time, and PRSI obligations
• Maintain health and safety standards in accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005
• Operate with transparency and professionalism in dealings with clients

While ICCA membership is a positive indicator, it should not be your sole criterion. Some excellent cleaning companies are not ICCA members, and membership alone does not guarantee service quality. Use it as one factor among many in your evaluation.

The Selection Process: Step by Step

Follow this structured process to select the best cleaning company for your needs:

1. Write your specification — Before approaching any provider, document exactly what you need. See our specification writing guide for help.
2. Create a shortlist — Identify 3–5 companies with relevant sector experience. Use recommendations, ICCA membership, and online research.
3. Issue your specification — Send the specification to all shortlisted companies and invite them to survey your premises.
4. Conduct site surveys — Accompany each company during their survey. Use the questions above to assess their approach.
5. Evaluate proposals — Score each proposal against the 10-point framework. See our tender evaluation guide for a detailed scoring methodology.
6. Check references — Contact at least 2 references for your top 2 providers.
7. Negotiate terms — Discuss contract terms, trial period, pricing, and SLA commitments.
8. Award and mobilise — Appoint the provider and agree a mobilisation plan including TUPE, initial deep clean, and key handover.

How Optus Glean Measures Up

We built this evaluation framework because we are confident in where we stand on every criterion. At Optus Glean, we provide:

• €6.5 million public liability and €13 million employer’s liability insurance as standard
• Garda vetting for every member of staff before assignment
• Experience across healthcare, corporate, hospitality, education, retail, and construction sectors
• Comprehensive induction and ongoing training programme
• Monthly quality audits with scored reports shared with clients
• Named account manager for every client
• Flexible contract terms with trial periods available
• Full TUPE management for contract transitions
• Free site surveys with fixed-price quotes delivered within 48 hours