Start with eTenders to find advertised Irish public-sector opportunities, then check whether you can enter the competition and deliver the specified lot. This guide helps suppliers choose the right buyers, distinguish framework access from open tenders, and prepare a usable monitoring routine.
Source guidance checked: 13 September 2026. Editorial owner: Antoine Simon. Next review: 13 December 2026, or sooner if a source or procedure changes. The worked example is illustrative, not a live tender.
Where to find opportunities and evidence
| Source | Use it for | Boundary to check |
|---|---|---|
| eTenders | Advertised opportunities and competition documents | Register and follow the specific competition instructions for response and updates. |
| Office of Government Procurement | National policy, guidance and central procurement | A framework's buying scope does not guarantee orders for every supplier admitted. |
| TED | EU-level notices | Use alongside eTenders; it is not a complete view of smaller purchases. |
Which threshold matters?
The OGP thresholds page states that goods and services contracts from €50,000 excluding VAT must be advertised on eTenders under Circular 05/2023. The page separately gives EU publication thresholds applicable from 1 January 2026. Do not reuse an old €25,000 goods-and-services advertising rule or apply one threshold across works, utilities and all buyer types.
For a specific pursuit, record the contract category, buyer type, estimated value basis and applicable procedure. An EU publication threshold is not a supplier eligibility test, and a low-value purchase is not automatically publicly advertised.
Decide whether the route is open to your company
An OGP framework can serve several public bodies, but admission and subsequent call-offs are different decisions. Read the lots, participating buyers, duration and call-off rules. If the framework is already closed to new suppliers, investigate its next competition or a permitted partner route rather than preparing an unsolicited bid.
For a live eTenders competition, register interest, download the complete request and identify the selection evidence, award criteria and clarification deadline. The government's eTenders service description confirms its role as the official national opportunity service. Use the portal's own guidance for registration and response.
English makes much Irish procurement accessible to international teams, but do not assume every document or permitted submission language without reading the competition. Cross-border eligibility, tax, staffing, delivery and required certifications still need to be checked.
A practical monitoring routine
- Define the products or services you can deliver, the viable locations and the buyers you want to serve.
- Run a classification search and a separate keyword search. Review the overlap and the useful results that either search misses.
- Record each candidate's source URL, identifier, lot, status, deadline, delivery location and reason for fit.
- Read the current documents and amendments. Assign one person to watch questions, changes and submission requirements.
- Keep historical awards and early signals outside the active-bid queue. Review them for buyer context and follow-up dates.
- Each week, inspect a sample of rejected results and known relevant notices. Adjust the search for demonstrated misses rather than tightening every filter at once.
Worked supplier example
An IT support company targeting universities should monitor named institutions and shared purchasing bodies, with separate searches for support services and hardware. A hardware framework may bundle support into a lot the company cannot fulfil alone. Record that as a partner decision; do not label every education-related ICT result a qualified lead.
Check coverage before relying on Duke
This guide documents official sources; it does not certify that Duke currently imports every source, attachment, amendment or local procurement described here. Before using Duke as your monitoring routine, compare several known notices from your target buyers with the results available in your account. Check publication dates, lots, deadlines, source links and changes. Keep an official-source check for anything not demonstrated.
Bring that sample and your buyer list to a Duke discussion. Ask which parts of the workflow and source coverage can be shown for your market today.
Your next decision
Use the tender notice reading guide to turn a candidate into a qualification record. For restricted buying routes, read how framework agreements work. Continue with Education procurement opportunities if that market or sector is part of your expansion.