Brian Hayes TD, Procurement Minister this morning launched a new website designed to make the awarding of State contracts a lot easier. “The etenders website now makes it possible for firms, who want to win State contracts, to have a completely paperless relationship with public sector buyers.”
“The launch of the new etenders website makes a dramatic shift in favour of suppliers who have rightly complained about the endless documentation that is attached to each bid. Once that documentation is up on the site, it’s there forever. The site allows new bids from potential suppliers to simple cut and paste the documentation that is already there. It’s a major advance on what we have had in place.”
“Where a business expresses an interest in a specific area within the public sector and some work becomes available, they are notified because they are registered on etenders. A new function on the site is a quick quote which allows buyers to search and then invite suppliers to tender for low value contracts, typically below £25,000.”
“The government spends in the region of 9 billion euro annually on goods and services. We want the SME sector to win a greater portion of this spend. Today’s announcement is a win win for both SME firms and public sector buyers.”
“There are close to 72,000 suppliers registered on line with etenders. I would encourage every Irish business, big and small, to register and to compete for public sector business. This technology is well ahead of what’s on offer in other EU countries while complying with all EU directives.”
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For further information or if you wish to interview Minister of State Hayes, please contact Neil Ryan, OPW Press Officer at 046 9426128 or 087 9475552 or neil.ryan@opw.ie
Note to Editors:
The official launch of the e-tenders site takes place at the OPW Offices, 52 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 at 10am on Monday 12th November. All welcome.
This upgraded ‘etenders’ website is a fully managed electronic tendering system, which meets Ireland’s requirements in relation to electronic public procurement and is also compliant with the EU requirements. The upgraded system will provide a full and transparent audit trail for each tendering competition. From a Buyer’s perspective, the upgrade introduces a wealth of other new features from developing, publishing, assessing and awarding tenders, as well as managing the associated contract. From a Supplier’s perspective, not only does it allow firms to store and manage their company details on the site, it provides for online tendering with interactive advice throughout to assist with the online tendering process.
The upgraded system will have a quick quote function allowing Buyers to search and then invite registered Suppliers in their area to tender for low value contracts, those typically under €25,000.
Apart from a User Guide for Suppliers/Buyers that will be online, a Helpline will be available to all users to guide them through any issues they may encounter with the new system. The number is 021 2439277 and is available during business hours from 09.00 to 17.30 Monday to Friday.