What does Optus Glean charge per hour?

We do not. Commercial and contract cleaning is delivered to a defined scope on a fixed monthly fee, paid by Direct Debit, with an annual indexed review. Per-hour pricing is for ad-hoc and domestic work, neither of which we do. The fixed monthly fee covers the named primary cleaner, the named relief, all consumables where contracted, all equipment, and the management overhead of running the contract.

What happens if Optus Glean's cleaner is sick?

The named relief is deployed and the site contact is notified by 06:30 on the morning of the absence. The relief is already vetted, inducted, and trained on the site's colour-coded system and IPC standard, so the standard of clean does not change. Substitution is Optus Glean's operational problem, not the buyer's risk to absorb.

How is the fixed monthly fee set?

The fee is set against a defined scope of work — frequency, areas, tasks, consumables, equipment — agreed at contract signature and documented in the service specification. The fee is reviewed once a year against the Consumer Price Index and the Contract Cleaning ERO rate movement, with any change communicated 60 days in advance of the review date. There are no in-year variations unless the scope itself changes.

Why are cleaning services in Cork so inconsistent?

It is a workforce-design problem rather than an effort problem. Most operatives in the sector are part-time or casual, and many also hold healthcare assistant shifts in nursing homes and acute care. When a care shift is offered, the cleaning shift is dropped. Optus Glean removes that dynamic by employing operatives PAYE on guaranteed hours, so the cleaning role is not the secondary income.

How does Optus Glean stop cleaners disappearing for healthcare shifts?

We make the cleaning role the better work. Pay is set above the Contract Cleaning ERO floor (€14.80 per hour, 2026). Hours are guaranteed and rostered weeks in advance. Annual leave is paid. Pension contributions are made. The cleaner has no incentive to substitute a less predictable casual healthcare shift.

Why are some commercial cleaning quotes for Cork so much cheaper than others?

Quotes for the same scope range from around €750-1,100 per month at the lower end to €1,500-1,700 per month at the upper end. The differential is almost entirely driven by employment model. Lower quotes assume a casual workforce where the provider carries no employment risk and passes service-continuity risk to the buyer. Higher quotes assume a PAYE workforce where the provider absorbs that risk.

Is the ERO rate a minimum or a market rate in Cork?

The Contract Cleaning ERO rate of €14.80 per hour is a statutory minimum set under the Labour Court's Sectoral Employment Order. It is a floor, not a ceiling. Providers who pay at the floor are competing for staff with adjacent care-sector roles paying €15-€17 per hour, which is why retention is poor across the lower end of the market.

What evidence is there that this workforce pattern is real?

It is visible in CSO Labour Force Survey data on multi-jobbing in accommodation, administrative support, and human health and social work activities, and in the Workplace Relations Commission's enforcement record under the Contract Cleaning ERO. Practice managers confirm it experientially: the same operative who cleans the practice on Monday is on a healthcare assistant rota at a nearby nursing home on Wednesday.

What happens if my cleaner is sick or on leave?

The named relief is deployed. The site contact is notified by 06:30 on the morning of an unplanned absence, or at the start of the leave period for a planned absence. The relief is already vetted, inducted on the site, and trained on the same colour-coded system and IPC standard as the primary cleaner. The task list, the equipment, and the time window do not change. The clean is delivered to the same standard.

Will I get a different cleaner every week?

No. The model is a named primary cleaner with a named relief, both fixed to the site for the duration of the contract. The relief only attends when the primary is genuinely unavailable — sick day, annual leave, training day — and it is the same named relief each time, not a rotating pool. Long-term continuity of the same two people on a site is what makes the standard of clean stable.

How does Optus Glean handle long-term cover?

For absences longer than two weeks, cover is drawn from the wider Optus Glean trained bench. Every operative on the bench is PAYE-employed, Garda-vetted, and trained to the same documented HIQA-aligned IPC standard, so continuity of standard is preserved. The buyer is informed of the cover plan, the named individuals involved, and the expected duration at the point the long-term absence is identified.

What happens if my primary cleaner leaves Optus Glean?

The relief is promoted to primary on a planned timetable. A new relief is recruited, vetted, inducted on the site, trained on the colour-coded system and IPC standard, and introduced to the buyer before the handover takes effect. There is no scenario in which the buyer discovers, after the fact, that their cleaner has changed. Continuity is engineered, not improvised.

School Cleaning Cork | Garda Vetted & Child Safe

€6.5M Public Liability

€13M Employer's Liability

Garda Vetted Staff

Child Safeguarding Trained

All Equipment Supplied

The Optus Glean promise: predictability

Three pillars. Three commitments. No exceptions.

Predictable cost. One fixed monthly fee, set against a defined scope and an annual indexed review. No variable hours. No surprise invoices. No padded callout charges. Budgeted once, paid by Direct Debit, reviewed once a year.

Predictable presence. The site is cleaned every day it is meant to be cleaned. A named primary cleaner is rostered to your contract, supported by a named relief who is already vetted, inducted, and trained on the same colour-coded system and IPC standard. The schedule does not depend on whether one person is available on one day.

Predictable freedom. A single point of accountability. One contract. One named manager. One number to call. Cleaning is no longer a problem the school has to manage — it is a service that runs.

Why cleaning in Cork is structurally hard to get right

Most cleaning provision in Ireland — including in healthcare-adjacent settings — is delivered by a workforce that is structurally part-time and casual. A significant proportion of operatives across the sector also work as healthcare assistants in nursing homes, residential care, and acute hospitals. Cleaning shifts are typically taken when healthcare shifts are not available, and released when they are. This pattern is consistent with CSO labour data on accommodation, food, and administrative-support employment, and it is the underlying reason that buyers across Ireland encounter inconsistency from agencies they have contracted in good faith.

The pattern is reinforced by two background pressures specific to Cork. Housing affordability limits the catchment for any role paying at or near the minimum wage. The Contract Cleaning Employment Regulation Order rate of €14.80 per hour for 2026, set under the Labour Court's sectoral employment framework, sits close enough to flexible care-sector pay that operatives drift toward whichever shift pays slightly more on the day. Both pressures pull cleaning staff away from contracted shifts and toward casual healthcare work.

The result, from the buyer's perspective, is the experience most practice managers, facilities leads, and procurement officers in Cork describe: a clean that is half-completed when the contracted cleaner is available, missed entirely when they are not, and accompanied by recurring conversations with the agency about cover that may or may not arrive.

This is the structural problem Optus Glean is built to solve. Our operatives are fully PAYE-employed with guaranteed weekly hours, paid leave, and pension contributions under Irish auto-enrolment. They are paid above the ERO floor deliberately — because the structural reliability of the service depends on the cleaner choosing to remain in the role rather than rotating through casual healthcare shifts. A named primary cleaner is assigned to your site, supported by a named relief, both Garda-vetted and trained to Optus Glean's documented HIQA-aligned IPC standard.

School Cleaning in Cork

Cork city and county is home to over 400 primary and secondary schools educating tens of thousands of children every day. From large secondary schools like Colaiste Chriost Ri and Presentation Brothers College in the city, to small rural national schools in West Cork and North Cork, every school shares the same need: a clean, safe, and healthy environment where children can learn and teachers can work effectively.

Optus Glean provides professional school cleaning across all of Cork. Every operative assigned to a Cork school is Garda vetted through the National Vetting Bureau, child safeguarding trained under Children First, and experienced in the specific demands of school environments. Schools are not offices — they face constant spills, intensive toilet use, art supplies, food debris, and the everyday mess that hundreds of children generate. Our cleaning teams understand this and deliver consistently high standards every school day.

School Cleaning Prices in Cork

School Type	Monthly Price	Includes
Small primary (8–12 classrooms)	€700–€1,200	Daily cleaning, toilets, hall, staffroom
Medium primary (16–24 classrooms)	€1,200–€1,900	Daily cleaning, toilets, hall, kitchen, offices
Large secondary (30+ classrooms)	€1,900–€3,000+	Daily cleaning, labs, workshops, gym, canteen
Summer deep clean (primary)	€1,200–€2,500	Full school deep clean during holidays
Summer deep clean (secondary)	€2,500–€4,500	Full school deep clean including specialist rooms

What Our Cork School Cleaning Covers

Daily Term-Time Cleaning

Our daily cleaning service runs after school hours — typically 3:00pm to 6:30pm for primary schools and 4:00pm to 7:30pm for secondary schools. Every school day, our team completes:

Classrooms: Desks wiped and sanitised, floors swept/mopped or vacuumed, bins emptied, teacher’s area cleaned, whiteboard trays dusted, window sills cleared, door handles and light switches sanitised
Toilet blocks: All toilets and urinals cleaned and disinfected, sinks descaled, soap and paper dispensers refilled, mirrors cleaned, floors mopped with disinfectant, odour management
Corridors and stairwells: Floors swept and mopped, handrails sanitised, entrance areas cleaned, doormats maintained
Assembly and sports halls: Floors swept and mopped (daily), scrubbed (weekly)
Staffrooms: Kitchen area cleaned, fridge cleaned (weekly), tables wiped, staff toilet cleaned
Offices and reception: Desks wiped, floors cleaned, bins emptied

Specialist Rooms (Secondary Schools)

Cork secondary schools have specialist cleaning requirements for science laboratories (chemical-safe cleaning, bench sanitisation, sink descaling), home economics kitchens (food-safe cleaning to Environmental Health standards), art rooms (paint removal, kiln area cleaning), computer and IT rooms (anti-static cleaning, keyboard sanitisation), woodwork and metalwork rooms (dust and shavings removal), and PE changing rooms and showers (daily disinfection).

Summer Deep Cleans for Cork Schools

The summer holidays are the time for the comprehensive deep clean that term-time schedules cannot accommodate. Our summer programme is typically completed in early July and includes:

Hard floor stripping, scrubbing, sealing, and polishing throughout
Carpet shampooing and stain treatment in staffrooms and offices
Gym and hall floor refinishing
All classrooms deep cleaned including tops of cupboards, behind furniture, inside storage units
Window cleaning (internal and external) including high-level hall windows
Toilet block refurbishment cleaning with descaling and grouting treatment
Kitchen full decontamination to Environmental Health standards
Light fittings, air vents, and high shelving cleaned
All furniture cleaned and sanitised

Cork’s damp climate means mould can develop over winter in poorly ventilated areas. Our summer deep clean includes targeted anti-mould treatment for affected areas, particularly in older school buildings.

Garda Vetting and Child Safety

Every Optus Glean operative working in a Cork school is:

Garda vetted through the National Vetting Bureau under the 2012–2016 Acts
Children First trained — recognising abuse, reporting obligations, appropriate boundaries
Photo ID carrying and required to sign in at school reception
Consistently assigned — the same team for your school to build familiarity and trust
Supervised by a designated team leader who is the school’s point of contact

We provide copies of all Garda vetting disclosures and training records to the school principal. Child safeguarding training is refreshed annually.

Cork Schools We Serve

We provide school cleaning across all Cork areas:

Cork City: Schools on the Northside (Blackpool, Farranree, Knocknaheeny, Mayfield), Southside (Douglas, Bishopstown, Togher, Turners Cross), and city centre
South Cork: Schools in Carrigaline, Passage West, Crosshaven, Kinsale, Bandon
West Cork: Schools in Clonakilty, Skibbereen, Bantry, Dunmanway, Macroom, Ballincollig
East Cork: Schools in Cobh, Midleton, Youghal, Carrigtwohill, Little Island
North Cork: Schools in Mallow, Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Charleville, Kanturk

We serve schools of all patronage types across the county, including Catholic, Church of Ireland, Educate Together, Gaelscoileanna, Cork ETB, community, and private schools. The cleaning standard is identical regardless of school type or location.

How Optus Glean handles staff shortages

Every Optus Glean contract is staffed on a redundancy model rather than a single-person model. A named primary cleaner is assigned to the site at contract start. A named relief is assigned alongside them. Both are PAYE-employed by Optus Glean, both are Garda-vetted, both are inducted on the site's specific layout, access protocols, and colour-coded equipment system, and both are trained to the same documented HIQA-aligned IPC standard. Substitution is built into the contract from the first day, not arranged on the day cover is needed.

Sick day cover. When the primary cleaner is unable to work, the named relief is deployed. The school site contact is notified by 06:30 on the morning of the absence by SMS or email, with the name of the relief who is attending. The relief follows the same task list, uses the same equipment, and finishes within the same window. The standard of clean is unchanged because the relief was prepared for this scenario before the absence happened.

Annual leave cover. Annual leave is rostered weeks in advance and the relief is scheduled to cover the full leave period. The school is informed at the start of the leave period — not on the morning leave begins. This is the same model used in clinical rota management: known absences are pre-staffed, not improvised.

Long-term cover. If the primary cleaner is absent for more than two weeks (extended illness, parental leave, bereavement leave), cover is drawn from the wider trained bench rather than relying on the single named relief. The school is kept informed of the cover plan, the named individuals involved, and the expected duration. Continuity of standard is maintained because every operative on the bench is trained to the same documented standard.

Permanent reassignment. If the primary cleaner moves to a new permanent role within Optus Glean — promotion, relocation, retirement — the relief is promoted to primary on a planned timetable, a new relief is trained on the site, and both are introduced to the school before the handover takes effect. There is no day on which the school discovers, after the fact, that their cleaner has changed.

Substitution is Optus Glean's operational problem, not the school's risk to absorb. The buyer pays a fixed monthly fee for a defined scope to be delivered, every day it is meant to be delivered. The mechanism by which we deliver it — primary, relief, bench, retraining — is our cost to manage and our risk to carry.

Why Cork Schools Choose Optus Glean

Garda vetted: Every operative vetted before school access — legal requirement, no exceptions
Children First trained: Full safeguarding awareness with annual refresher
Consistent teams: Same team assigned to your school for familiarity and accountability
After-hours cleaning: No disruption to the school day or after-school activities
Summer deep cleans: Comprehensive school refresh during the holidays
Infection control: Enhanced cleaning during outbreaks of norovirus, flu, and other infections
Board-ready documentation: Insurance certs, vetting records, H&S statements, references
Fully insured: €6.5M public liability and €13M employer’s liability
All equipment supplied: Professional equipment and eco-friendly products included
Cork coverage: Every area of Cork city and county, from Youghal to Bantry

Infection Control in Cork Schools

Cork’s schools, like all Irish schools, face seasonal infection challenges. Young children in close classroom environments spread infections rapidly. Our school cleaning programme includes daily sanitisation of high-touch surfaces (door handles, light switches, handrails, flush handles, taps), hand hygiene station maintenance, vomit and body fluid clean-up kits provided and replenished, and enhanced cleaning protocols during outbreaks. We work with the school principal to adjust cleaning frequency and focus areas when infections are circulating in the school community.

Frequently asked questions

How much does school cleaning cost in Ireland in 2026?

A school is priced as a fixed monthly fee per site against a term-based scope: daily after-hours cleaning of classrooms, washrooms, corridors and shared areas, plus scheduled holiday-period deep cleans. The Contract Cleaning ERO 2026 sets a €14.80/hour labour floor, but reputable providers quote the contract on a multi-year term with an annual indexed review and a single monthly Direct Debit, never per hour.

What standards apply to school cleaning in Ireland?

Department of Education school cleaning guidance, the Children First Act 2015 (child-safeguarding obligations on every adult on site), HSA requirements under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, and HSE Public Health guidance on outbreak response. The cleaning programme must produce a documented audit trail that supports the school's own child-safeguarding statement and risk assessments.

What child-safeguarding requirements apply to school cleaning staff?

Every cleaner working on a school site must be Garda-vetted via the National Vetting Bureau before they enter the building, briefed on the school's Child Safeguarding Statement under the Children First Act 2015, and identifiable on site (lanyard, uniform, signed-in). A reputable provider also runs the cleaning programme outside teaching hours so cleaners and pupils do not share spaces.

How are school cleans scheduled around the term?

A typical school contract runs daily evening cleans across term time and steps up to programmed deep cleans during mid-term, Christmas, Easter, and the summer break. Summer is the heavy lift — floors stripped and resealed, soft furnishings deep-cleaned, washrooms re-grouted where needed. The fixed monthly fee covers both term-time and holiday-period work; budgets do not need to flex with the calendar.

What's the difference between PAYE and casual cleaning contracts in education?

A PAYE-employed cleaner is on payroll with the company that signs the contract, paid above the Contract Cleaning ERO €14.80/hour floor, Garda-vetted, with paid leave and PRSI through the employer. A casual or self-employed operative is none of those things. PAYE staffing is the only model that supports a named primary cleaner with continuity across an academic year — and continuity is what child-safeguarding compliance actually requires.

How do I evaluate a cleaning provider for a school?

Ask whether the cleaners are PAYE-employed and Garda-vetted before they enter the site, who the named primary cleaner and relief are for the building, and whether the provider can produce a written method statement and chemical SDS file that satisfies the school's Health & Safety statement under HSA rules. Holiday-period deep-clean delivery should be in the contract, not an extra.

What should be in a cleaning contract for a school?

Defined daily scope and frequency per zone (classrooms, washrooms, corridors, canteens, gym, staff areas), the holiday-period deep-clean programme, after-hours scheduling, named primary cleaner with Garda vetting on file, child-safeguarding briefing, the chemical regime with SDS, fixed monthly fee, annual indexed review, and a clean exit clause. No per-hour pricing. No "ad-hoc" charges every time a holiday clean is scheduled.

How does a cleaning provider handle outbreaks at a school?

An outbreak — norovirus, hand-foot-and-mouth, flu — triggers the school to consult HSE Public Health, who advise on enhanced cleaning frequency and chemical regime. The cleaning provider should be on call to step the programme up: more frequent touchpoint cleaning, validated disinfection contact times, and documented evidence of what was cleaned and when. In Cork, this typically means same-day response from the named primary cleaner or named relief, not a "we'll get to you next week" agency dispatch.

School Cleaning Services in Cork