Procurement & stores management

It ranges from the purchase of routine supplies or services to formal tendering and placing of contracts for large infrastructural projects.

Dublin City Council is bound by EU Directives, Legislation and Government Policy in its procurement function. Contract value thresholds determine which particular procedures are followed. Further information and current thresholds can be found on the EU public procurement website.

The EU Directives impose legal obligations on public bodies to use objective tendering procedures. Contracts with estimated values above the thresholds set out in the Directives must be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Directive 2014/24/EU applies to the procurement procedures of public sector bodies including local authorities.

In accordance with Government policy, all contracts above €25,000 (excluding VAT) for supplies and services above €50,000 (excluding VAT) for works must be advertised as part of a formal tendering process.

The OGP is an office within the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform. It has been tasked with centralising public sector procurement arrangements for common supplies and services. The website of the Office of Government Procurement(OGP)is a central facility for all public sector contracting authorities to advertise procurement opportunities including those above the EU thresholds.

Procurement in Dublin City Council

Procurement in Dublin City Council is largely a devolved function, where individual departments are responsible for ensuring their sourcing requirements are met, while operating to best procurement practice and compliance with relevant legislative, regulatory and policy requirements.

The Dublin City Council Corporate Procurement Plan sets out the strategic, organisational and operational objectives, which are necessary in achieving a more focused value for money approach to procurement. The Plan contains a series of actions in areas such as procurement governance, processes, planning, monitoring, organisational capacity and stakeholder management.

The Central Procurement Unit has a co-ordinating role in ensuring that there is an organisational focus on good practice in purchasing, and that procedures are in place to achieve value for money and ensure high standards of openness, transparency and compliance with all relevant public procurement guidelines and legislation.

All staff, or agents on their behalf, who are undertaking procurement activities are required to ensure that their activities are conducted in a manner compliant with Public Procurement requirements, the Council’s Procurement Policy, Corporate Procurement Plan and Procurement Procedures Manual.

Procurement Ethics

All employees involved in procurement activity are bound to act in accordance with the Local Government Act 2001 and the Code of Conduct for Employees. Members of a tender evaluation team are required to sign Declarations of Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest prior to the tender evaluation process commencing.

Authority to Purchase

Head of Finance Order 85/2020 sets out the approver limits and associated requirements in respect of authority to purchase arising from a procurement process.

A quotations process is a competition where selected suppliers are directly invited to submit quotes. This process is to be used where the estimated contract value is less than €25,000 excl. vat (€50,000 for works) and no other procurement arrangements are in place. This threshold applies to the organisation as a whole for the procurement of similar supplies, services or works. Quotations must be sought and returned using the Quick Quotes facility on eTenders.

A tender process is a competition where all interested suppliers following the issue of a public notice may submit tenders. This process is to be used where the estimated contract value or aggregated contract value under a framework agreement may exceed €25,000 excl. vat (€50,000 for works) and no other procurement arrangements are in place. A tender process may only be conducted where a collaborative procurement arrangement is not available or proposed. Approval must be sought from the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) through the Central Procurement Unit prior to publishing a contract notice / tender documents on eTenders.

A mini-competition process is a competition where selected suppliers are directly invited to submit tenders in accordance with a framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system.

A direct drawdown process is where a selected supplier is engaged (without further competition) based on agreed prices in accordance with a framework agreement or contract.

Purchasing thresholds:

Advertising of contracts in the Official Journal of the EU is obligatory is obligatory over certain thresholds (exclusive of VAT).

The main advertising thresholds with effect from 1 January 2016 are as follows:

• Works:
• Supplies and services:
• Utilities:

Collaborative Procurement Arrangements

When considering sourcing options, collaborative procurement arrangements are to be used for the purchase of supplies, services and works in the following order:

• National arrangements
• Local Government Sectoral arrangements
• Regional arrangements

Collaborative procurement arrangements established at National, Sectoral or Regional level are to be used once activated by Manager's Order. The use of collaborative procurement arrangements must be in accordance with the requirements of the relevant framework or drawdown contract. The subsequent awarding of contracts under these arrangements is to be in accordance with the approval limits and requirements as set in the purchasing thresholds outlined above.

Where no collaborative procurement arrangements exist, a collaborative approach must be considered prior to conducting a procurement process in consultation with the Procurement Officer. Any decision to proceed with a local tendering process must be documented and approved by the relevant Executive Manager in advance.

Supplier Performance

The Council's procurement procedures require that all existing contracts are monitored to ensure supplier performance and their conformity with the specification of requirements and tender submission. Performance reviews should be conducted on a periodical basis.

Additional Information

Advice:

Want more advice on winning public sector contracts? Download the this Guide to Winning Public Sector Contracts. It provides an introduction to public procurement for sole traders and small to medium businesses.

Dublin City Council Corporate Procurement Plan

The Dublin City Council Corporate Procurement Plan sets out the Council’s procurement objectives.

The Corporate Procurement Plan identified that procurement was regarded as an ancillary function undertaken by individuals within the Council in order to comply with the basic requirements of the EU Public Procurement Directives and National Guidelines.

The establishment of the Council's Procurement Unit in 2005 has modernised the procurement function within the Council and has brought it centre stage to ensure compliance, support for service delivery, minimisation of risks and the provision of good value for money on an ongoing basis. In addition, the Council's procurement activity facilitates economic, social and environmental objectives, wherever possible, by identifying opportunities for social or green procurement and by improving SME business activity locally through the Local Enterprise Office.

Current tender competitions

Tenders for services over €25,000 and works over €50,000 are published on the eTenderswebsite.

View public contracts awarded over €10,000 for ICT and over €25,000 for other contracts

You can download a list of public contracts awarded over €10,000 for ICT and over €25,000 for other contracts.

Glossary

eProcurement - The publication of all procurement opportunities, issue of tender documents, managing queries and submitting quotations/tender responses is to be conducted on the appropriate eProcurement systems (eTenders/SupplyGov).

Evaluation of Responses - Evaluation of quotations/tender responses must be documented to ensure compliance with Public Procurement requirements.

Manager's Orders - Executive Orders in respect of the procurement of supplies, services or works must be in the format set out in the Procurement Procedures Manual.

Contract Award Notices - Each Executive Manager is required to ensure Contract Award Notices are published for all contracts in excess of €25,000 as required in accordance with Circular 10/14 and any other legislative requirements. This includes contracts awarded following mini-competitions or drawdowns under collaborative arrangements.

Tax Clearance and VAT - All suppliers must be compliant with current Tax Clearance legislation. All amounts described in Head of Finance Order 85/2020 are exclusive of VAT.

Purchasing Cards - Purchases using purchasing cards must be in accordance with the Low Value Purchase Cards Policy and Guidelines. Payments are to be approved by the appropriate Senior Staff Officer, Executive Engineer or an employee of analogous or higher grade who is not the cardholder.

Procurement Pipeline - Each Executive Manager is required to produce and maintain a schedule of proposed procurements valued in excess of €25,000. The schedule is to be submitted to the Central Procurement Unit for the following year by the end of November in the preceding year. The schedule is to be updated in the annual procurement plan on a monthly basis.

Tender Register - Each Executive Manager is required to inform the Central Procurement Unit of all procurements valued in excess of €25,000 to be recorded in the Tender Register. The Tender Register is to be updated on a monthly basis.

Contracts Database - Each Executive Manager is required to inform the Central Procurement Unit of all contracts valued in excess of €25,000 to be recorded in the Contracts Database. The Contracts Database is to be updated on a monthly basis.

Procurement Officer - The role of the Procurement Officer is to provide specialist advice, guidance and to monitor and report on compliance with procurement obligations.

Departments are required to consult with the Procurement Officer in ensuring that they are meeting their responsibilities to conduct their procurement activities in a manner that is compliant with procurement obligations. All information/documentation required by the Procurement Officer to enable them to fulfil their role are to be provided in line with procedures and in a timely manner.