Laois County Council provides information and advice to suppliers who want to supply goods, services or works in line with public sector procurement guidelines.
Public Procurement is defined as the acquisition, whether under formal contract or not, of works, supplies and services by public bodies. It ranges from the purchase of routine supplies or services to formal tendering and placing contracts for large infrastructural projects.
The Corporate Procurement Plan 2024-2027 is currently being prepared for publication
As outlined in our Corporate Procurement Plan 2021-2023 below, our Procurement Mission Statement is:
“To ensure Laois County Council’s procurement function operates in accordance with best practice as set out by National and EU legislation, achieves optimum value for money purchasing across all functions of the organisation, while ensuring transparency, accountability and promoting an increasingly sustainable approach to our Procurement activities.”
Laois County Council procurements are governed by the Public Sector Directive 2014/24/EU, National Legislation and Government Policy. The current National Procurement Thresholds and associated Procedures are outlined here.
When purchasing supplies and services valued less than €50,000 Laois County Council will carry out a quotation-based competition by direct invitation if there is no suitable contract framework in place. In line with Government Policy supplies & services contracts above €50,000 must be advertised as a National/EU tender process on the eTenders platform.
A quotation-based competition by direct invitation will also be carried out by Laois County Council for works contracts below €200,000 where no suitable national or sectoral framework exists. Where the value of a works contract is above €200,000 the contract must be advertised as a National/EU tender process on the eTenders platform.
Laois County Council utilises many of the national contracts put in place by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP). Categories include Energy, ICT, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Legal, Cleaning, Security services etc.
The OGP have prepared a short video providing an overview of Public Procurement in Ireland.
The Local Government Operational Procurement Centre (LGOPC) based in Kerry County Council maintains a dedicated public Procurement portal called Supplygov. The LGOPC is tasked with leading two categories of procurement on behalf of the public sector. With frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems for categories such as Plant Hire, Civil Engineering Materials, Bitumen and Minor Building Works to Residential/Commercial buildings.
Guidance for suppliers on how to register and respond to a RFT on the Supplygov portal is available here.
National and EU Tender opportunities are advertised on the European tendering platform eTenders which is used by all public sector bodies including Contracting Authorities. There are several interactive walkthrough videos for Suppliers on how to register and manage a tender process on the new eTenders platform.
Laois County Council have committed to incorporating Green Public Procurement into our Tender processes, where appropriate.
Green Public Procurement (GPP) is a process where public authorities seek to source goods, services or works with a reduced environmental impact.
Implementing GPP will require a major shift in the work practices of public bodies, like Laois County Council and the businesses we contract with.
For further information on Green Public Procurement, please see an informational video directly below as prepared by the EPA.
The Local Government sector have published a Public Procurement Guide for SMEs and Sole Traders which aims to help Small to Medium Enterprises and Sole Traders make the most of the business opportunities within the Public Sector.
It provides an introduction to Public Procurement processes and procedures and explains how Contracting Authorities such as Laois County Council purchase goods, services and works. It encourages businesses of all sizes to engage with the many business tendering opportunities.
Support and advice is available from the Local Enterprise Office
For further information please contact the Procurement Team via email at procurement@laoiscoco.ie or by phone at 057 86 64000