By Business & Finance 
The value of public procurement tenders has almost halved since 2008, falling from around €16bn to €8.5bn in the seven years to 2015.
Specialist tender service Tenders Direct Ireland is reporting that the public procurement market is once again on the rise and in particular, in the construction sector.
Tim Williams, managing director, Millstream (which operates Tenders Direct Ireland) said: “We have seen a lot of activity in the public tenders’ space of late and we conservatively estimate that it will rise by around €1bn this year to over €13bn.
“By far the highest number of contracts is for construction work, which accounts for around 40% of tender notices in Ireland. The majority of construction tenders are advertised by city and county councils and there is a clear demand for civil engineering companies with experience in roads and bridges.”
Demand for flood prevention services is also featuring highly, which is not surprising given the incidence of flooding across Ireland in recent years.
Organisations are also once again investing in training. “Management and leadership training account for almost 10% of all tender notices so we can deduce that a significant amount is being invested in people by public sector bodies,” added Williams.
According to Tenders Direct Ireland, the most common mistakes include missing the deadline for submission, even by a few minutes, or not answering a mandatory question.
“It’s also important to look at how the marks will be awarded during the evaluation process, as this will show you which answers you should really concentrate on,” advises Williams. “Always stick rigidly to the guidelines. The poor procurement officer evaluating the completed tenders has to read through each and every one of the responses.”
