Discusses the legal requirements for selling to the host government, including whether the government has agreed to abide by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement or is a party to a government procurement chapter in a U.S. FTA. Specifies areas where there are opportunities.
Last Published: 8/6/2019

Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks.  Please refer to “Project Financing” Section in “Trade and Project Financing” for more information.

Public procurement in Ireland is estimated to be worth approximately €16 billion annually.  It is across a wide range of sectors and encompasses products and services.  Public bodies are constantly under pressure to buy smartly, spend less and collaborate with others in purchasing. This often results in larger, higher profile procurement activity, often using competitive dialogue, frameworks or central purchasing arrangements. Buyers’ procurement practices can also fall under scrutiny in the Courts where unsuccessful tenderers can seek redress.

The Irish Government established the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) in 2014 to reduce costs and achieve better value for money.  Together with four key sectors (Health, Local Government, Education and Defense), the OGP has responsibility for sourcing all goods and services on behalf of the public service.   The OGP and its sector partners are putting in place framework agreements and contracts through which public sector bodies can buy goods and services. 

he sourcing model is broken down into 16 categories of expenditure. The 8 categories of common goods and services are procured by the OGP. Four sectors – Health, Education, Local Government and Defense – retain sector sourcing functions to procure the remaining categories for which they are the main users.  The OGP Sourcing organization is broken down into a number of portfolios, each dedicated to different categories of spend. The sourcing portfolios are: Information and Communications Technology (ICT); Facilities Management; Utilities, Fleet and Plant, Marketing, Print & Stationery; Travel, HR and Managed Services; Professional Services; and Spot Buying.As a member of the EU, Ireland follows the public procurement regulations applicable across the Community. 

Government procurement in Europe is governed by both international obligations under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and EU-wide legislation under the EU Public Procurement Directives. U.S.-based companies are permitted to bid on public tenders covered by the GPA, while European subsidiaries of U.S. companies may bid on all public procurement contracts covered by the EU Directives in the European Union.Ireland has adopted the four principal EU public procurement directives namely:

  • Directive 2014/24/EU (replacing Directive 2004/18/EC) on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts applies to the general sector;
  • Directive 2014/25/EU (replacing Directive 2004/17/EC) coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors;
  • Directive 2009/81/EC on defense and sensi­tive security pro­cure­ment. This Directive sets Com­munity rules for the pro­cure­ment of arms, muni­tions and war material (plus related works and ser­vices) for defense pur­poses, but also for the pro­curement of sensi­tive supp­lies, works and ser­vices for non-mili­tary security pur­poses;
  • Directive 2014/23/EU on the award of concession contracts. A concession contract (either for the delivery of works or services) is conducted between a public authority and a private enterprise that gives the right to the company to build infrastructure and operate businesses that would normally fall within the jurisdiction of the public authority (e.g. highways).
The EU has three remedy directives imposing common standards for all member states to abide by in case bidders identify discriminatory public procurement practices.  Electronic versions of the procurement documentation must be available through an internet URL immediately on publication of the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) contract notice. Full electronic communication (with some exceptions) became mandatory for all public contracts from October 2018. Central purchasing bodies are required to publish their contracts and requests for tenders since April 2017.

All Irish work, supply, service, and utility procurement project notices which fall within the guidelines of EU public procurement directives are published electronically in the Official Journal of the European Community (OJEC) "S" series.   The Irish government also has its own eTenders Public Sector Procurement portal that provides electronic access to all Irish public sector procurement opportunities published in the OJEC and in the national and local print media.  The U.S. Commercial Service in Dublin actively monitors and reports on major procurement projects offering opportunities for U.S. firms.  Since 2016, Ireland has seen increased investment funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a range of EIB-funded projects in Ireland. 

Electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will be introduced based on the requirement set forth in Directive 2014/55/EU. The Directive makes the receipt and processing of electronic invoices in public procurement obligatory. Standards for e-invoicing are being developed by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN).

There are restrictions for U.S. suppliers in the EU utilities sector, both in the EU Utilities Directive and in EU coverage of the GPA. Article 85 of Directive 2014/25 allows EU contracting authorities to either reject non-EU bids where the proportion of goods originating in non-EU countries exceeds 50 percent or give preference to the EU bid if prices are equivalent (meaning within a three percent margin). Moreover, the Directive allows EU contracting authorities to retain the right to suspend or restrict the award of service contract to undertaking in third countries where no reciprocal access is granted.

There are also restrictions in the EU coverage of the GPA that apply specifically to U.S.-based companies.  U.S. companies are not allowed to bid on works and services contracts procured by sub-central public contracting authorities in the following sectors:
  • Water sector
  • Airport services
  • Urban transport sector as described above, and railways in general
  • Dredging services and procurement related to shipbuilding

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.