Bid Services

Life's a pitch... And then they buy!

Call: +353 (0)1 525 2650   Mail: info@bidservices.ie

  • Home
  • How it Works
  • Services
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Webinars
  • Contact Us

Snapshot of Irish Procurement Activity at EU level* in 2018

8th February 2019 By Bid Services

The following statistics, extracted from the EU Commission’s Tenders Electronic Daily, provide an interesting snapshot of the level and types of procurement activity undertaken by Irish contracting authorities during 2018. It suggests a number of interesting trends including:

  • the emergence of the first Dynamic Purchasing Systems as enabled by the 2014 Directives;
  • significant uptake in the use of Competitive Procedure with Negotiation (41);
  • the first use of Contract Modification Notices (which permit certain changes to contracts during their term);
  • the first use of so-called “Light-Touch” procedures for certain health and social services as prescribed in Annex XIV to the 2014 Directive; and,
    an increased use of Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notices (VEAT).

We will comment further on the foregoing trends in future posts over the coming weeks but, for now, here are the main details for 2018:

Irish Procurement Activity at EU level* in 2018

Type of Notice Number Published by Irish Contracting AuthoritiesComment
Contract Notice 1,545Of which 1,268 were issued under the Public Sector Directive; 269 under the Utilities Directive and 8 under the Defence Directive.
Contract Notice for Open Procedure1,016
Contract Notice for Restricted Procedure 215
Contract Notice for Negotiated Procedure237(Utilities only)
Contract Notice for Competitive Procedure with Negotiation41(only available to Public Sector CAs since 2016)
Contract Notice for Competitive Dialogue 35
Contract Notices for Framework Agreements 320
Contract Award Notice1,1881,029 under Public Sector Directive; 157 under Utilities; 1 under Defence; 1 under other.
Prior Information Notice without Call for Competition125
Prior Information Notice with Call for Competition15
Periodic Indicative Notice27
Without Call for Competition
Periodic Indicative Notice with Call for Competition1
Design Contest6
Works Concession1
Services Concession10
Concession Award Notice 4
Qualification System with Call for Competition37Available to Utilities Sector only
Dynamic Purchasing System5
Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice 28
Contract Modification Notice26
Annex XIV Notices (“Light Touch” Procedures) subject to €750k threshold (Public Sector) and 1m (Utilities)12Approx. 100 such notices for EU as a whole, with remainder from UK.
Corrigendum Notices 149

*This data relates only to contracts/concessions with values in excess of monetary thresholds prescribed in EU Directives. A large volume of contract notices for contracts under EU-Threshold values are published on the national procurement portals www.etenders.gov.ie and www.supplyGov.ie

The publication of contract notices represents the majority of activity and the number published in 2018 (1,545) represents an increase of 326 (or 26%) over the number of such notices published in 2014 (1219).

The publication of contract award notices shows a continuing and welcome improvement over previous years with 1,188 such notices published in 2018, an increase of 466 or 64% over the 722 award notices published in 2014.

At national level, the etenders website indicates that there were approximately 6,300 contract notices published on that portal during 2018 with approximately 2,800 award notices.

However, on the down side, the 2017 Appropriation Accounts published by the Comptroller and Auditor General during 2018 showed a continuing high level of contracts awarded or renewed without competitive process in 2017. The published figures show that, across the 42 Votes covered, there was a total of 686 such awards made during 2017 to a combined value of €122.6 million. These figures, which are self-declared under Circular 40/02, are in respect of central government bodies only and do not cover the Health, Local Authority, Semi-State (commercial and non-commercial) and Utilities Sectors.

With regard to the Health Sector, the 2017 HSE Annual Report confirms that non-compliance with public procurement rules remains an issue. That Report states that “Comptroller and Auditor General findings in 2017 indicated a level of non-compliance in relation to 36% (by value) of the sample of payments examined at 5 HSE locations visited during the audit.” However, the HSE (Health Procurement Services) is committed to addressing this matter and has put a programme in place to enhance compliance in the coming years.

Clearly, while much is being done by many diligent officials across the system, there is still room for improvement.

James Farrell
Procurement Research Limited
7 February 2019

© Copyright Procurement Research Limited, February 2019. Used by Public Procurement Services Ltd. with permission. Further use or citation not authorised without permission of copyright holder and due attribution.

Filed Under: Info Tagged With: 2018, Contract Notice, Defence Directive, EU Procurement, Irish Procurement, Procurement Research Limited, Public Sector Directive, Utilities Directive

book

A Must Read…

Written by Peter Brennan and Joanne Gillen, this book explains how buyers and suppliers can take full advantage of a procurement market worth €90 billion over the next five years.>

eLearning

  • Tender Training Excellence Programme

    The nine module Tender Training Excellence Programme is delivered online and is available free of charge.
    Start learning now!>

BID BLOG

Dynamic Purchasing System

10th October 2022

Irish contracting authorities have published 185 tenders using the Dynamic Purchasing System to procure a wide range of supplies services and works. Want to know more about the DPS? This short presentation/tutorial should be of interest to both buyers and suppliers. https://bidservices.ie/tender-and-procurement-training-modules/ >

Procuring the proposed National Maternity Hospital

16th May 2022

Here are some public interest issues that have got scant attention in recent weeks. In compliance with Cabinet procedures, the Government’s decision to tender for the construction and fit-out of the proposed NMH must be based on a detailed business case prepared under the Public Spending Code. The business case will have assessed construction and […] >

OGP Tender to the Value of €200 Million over Four years

9th February 2022

OGP has just published a tender to a value of €200m over four years for a wide range of services, including business strategy, ICT consultancy, economics, social research, research policy advice, environmental consultancy, design services, PR and marketing consultancy, financial management consultancy, project and programme management, organisational change, HR and business process management. The framework […] >

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events at this time.

Our Services

  • Expert Help
  • Help With Tenders
  • Tender Training
  • Document Design & Production
  • eLearning Programme

Tendering Tips

View our Tendering Tips to help you manage the process or understand how our support and expertise can make all the difference in your tender application.

Contact Us

Bid Services

5 Islington Ave, Sandycove, Dublin, A96 PY90
Tel: +353 1 525 2650
Email: info@bidservices.ie

Copyright © 2023 Bid Management Services