SPFA for the Provision of Comprehensive Internal Audit Services

AI-generated analysis of the documents. Check the official notice and any amendments for current submission details.

1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

Respond Ireland ran this procurement for “SPFA for the Provision of Comprehensive Internal Audit Services” as an operational contract requiring implementation and sustained service execution. The extracted pack showed qualification-stage material with references to later ITT technical depth; practical activity therefore centred on building, integrating, and operating the specified service stack with compliant reporting and handover obligations where stated. Constituent activities and named work elements in the supplied extracts:

• Title: SPFA for the Provision of Comprehensive Internal Audit Services
• The maximum total value of the any services pursuant to the framework agreement will not exceed €216,000 (ex
• contract under this framework agreement if the framework member cannot, for whatever reason, deliver the required services to the satisfaction of
• community – 15 Early Learning and School Age Care services, 3 Daycare for Older
• community – 15 Early Learning and School Age Care services, 3 Daycare for Older People services, Refugee
• Establishment of a Single-Party Framework Agreement for the Provision of Comprehensive Internal Audit Services to Support the Contracting Authority’s Governance, Internal Control, Risk and Compliance Frameworks as well as strategic and operational goals. Initial Contract: - 1 year (Details to be provided at stage 2)
• Title of Procurement Establishment of a Single-Party Framework Agreement for the Provisionof Comprehensive Internal Audit Services to Support the Contracting Authority’s Governance, Internal Control, Risk and Compliance Frameworksas well as strategic and operational goals. Initial Contract: - 1 year
• Respond is a construction led Approved Housing Body and services provider. It currently has xx homes in construction around the country and is on track to triple that number to over 4,100. Respond owns and manages over 7,000 homes with over 20,000 tenants in every county within the Republic of Ireland. Respond also provides services in the community – 15 Early Learning and School Age Care services, 3 Daycare for Older
• [Internal Audit Tender 06.01.2026 v1 Stage 1 (002).docx] triple that number to over 4,100. Respond owns and manages over 7,000 homes with over 20,000 tenants in every county within the Republic of Ireland. Respond also provides services in the community – 15 Early Learning and School Age Care services, 3 Daycare for Older People services, Refugee Resettlement services, Family Homeless services and Family Support services.
• Our Mission: To play an enhanced role in effectively addressing the specific housing and homelessness crisis in Ireland by expanding and improving the housing services we provide. We will significantly increase our housing stock, all the while seeking to maintain our focus on the alleviation of poverty. Respond estates will be well-designed, vibrant communities with new developments prioritising mixed tenure to ensure true social integration and inclusion. We will strive to contribute to an Ireland where everyone can have a home to call their own and where individuals, families and communities are empowered to reach their full potential.
• The Contracting Authority proposes to engage in a competitive process for the establishment of a Single-Party Framework Agreement for the Provision of Comprehensive Internal Audit Services to Support the Contracting Authority’s Governance, Internal Control, Risk and Compliance Obligationsas well as strategic and operational goals.
• [Internal Audit Tender 06.01.2026 v1 Stage 1 (002).docx] The maximum total value of the any services pursuant to the framework agreement will not exceed €216,000 (ex. VAT) over the lifetime of the agreement i.e., 4 years. Non-binding monetary references in the source were treated as context only and were not used as qualification thresholds.

3. Background & buyer context

The buyer context reflected a formal Irish public-procurement route, with pre-qualification used to control entry into the tender stage.

• [Internal Audit Tender 06.01.2026 v1 Stage 1 (002).docx]
• [Internal Audit Tender 06.01.2026 v1 Stage 1 (002).docx] It is the policy of the Contracting Authority to promote participation by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on a fair and equal basis.
• • Payment and Availability Funding (PAA) and LA Nominations
• • Contract Terms & Conditions, Funding Agreements and execution

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

• Turnover requirement — — use these verbatim for insurance / turnover. If a category (insurance, turnover) has no entry here, treat it as 'not specified' for THIS tender.
• Insurance — — use these verbatim for insurance / turnover. If a category (insurance, turnover) has no entry here, treat it as 'not specified' for THIS tender.; Insurance Type Required Level Employer Liability €13 million Public Liability €6.5 million Professional Indemnity €1
• Certifications — r Weighting: Pass/Fail Pass requirement: Confirmation that the applicant/all parties associated with the applicant have generated a minimum average annual turnover of €400,000. When requested to do so, applicants will; Clearance Certificate which will be made available on request Yes No Turnover I confirm that our minimum average annual turnover exceeded €400,000 for each of three (3) preceding financia
• Past experience — not specified for this tender
• Personnel — not specified for this tender
• Geographic / facility constraints — not specified for this tender Additional binding lines surfaced in the deterministic extract:
• — use these verbatim for insurance / turnover. If a category (insurance, turnover) has no entry here, treat it as 'not specified' for THIS tender.
• r Weighting: Pass/Fail Pass requirement: Confirmation that the applicant/all parties associated with the applicant have generated a minimum average annual turnover of €400,000. When requested to do so, applicants will
• Insurance Type Required Level Employer Liability €13 million Public Liability €6.5 million Professional Indemnity €1
• Clearance Certificate which will be made available on request Yes No Turnover I confirm that our minimum average annual turnover exceeded €400,000 for each of three (3) preceding financia

5. Award criteria & scoring

6. Submission requirements

• Method statement / response document (template/page limits) — Appendix 1 questionnaire/PQQ response was required.
• CVs (page count, named roles) — not specified in extract.
• Pricing schedule (format/template) — expected at ITT stage.
• Case studies (number/value range) — client references/comparable project evidence was referenced.
• Declarations (ESPD/Bona Fides/Tax/COI) — ESPD/declaration/statement-of-confirmation language was present.
• Mandatory site visit — not specified in extract.
• Submission portal and formatting — eTenders portal and PDF electronic copies were referenced. Submission-related source lines:
• Value: not disclosed (eTenders placeholder)
• QUALIFICATION QUESTIONNAIRE
• Closing Date for Queries As per etenders
• Closing Date for Tender Submissions As per etenders
• Contact for Queries Questions and Answers facility on www.etenders.gov.ie
• Format for submission of tenders Tender Post-box facility on www.etenders.gov.ie

7. Key dates & process

8. Contract terms that matter

Contract duration in the extract: 12 Months. Payment cycle, SLA/KPI schedule, and penalty regime were not fully disclosed in the snippets unless listed below.

• VERIFIED PHRASES (deterministic regex extract from the documents — treat as authoritative for numerical claims)
• Small and Medium Enterprise Participation 4
• Respond is a construction led Approved Housing Body and services provider. It currently has xx homes in construction around the country and is on track to triple that number to over 4,100. Respond owns and manages over 7,000 homes with over 20,000 tenants in every county within the Republic of Ireland. Respond also provides services in the community – 15 Early Learning and School Age Care services, 3 Daycare for Older
• [Internal Audit Tender 06.01.2026 v1 Stage 1 (002).docx] triple that number to over 4,100. Respond owns and manages over 7,000 homes with over 20,000 tenants in every county within the Republic of Ireland. Respond also provides services in the community – 15 Early Learning and School Age Care services, 3 Daycare for Older People services, Refugee Resettlement services, Family Homeless services and Family Support services.
• Our Guiding Principles are Social Justice and Right to Housing.
• [Internal Audit Tender 06.01.2026 v1 Stage 1 (002).docx] It is the policy of the Contracting Authority to promote participation by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on a fair and equal basis.
• SMEs are encouraged to explore the possibilities of forming relationships with other SMEs or with larger enterprises to meet the financial, economic or technical capacity requirements of the competition, if required.
• Tenderers may include individuals, partnerships, limited companies, groupings or any combination of the foregoing with or without legal personality. However, a grouping if successful will be required to establish legal personality to enter into the contract.

9. Risks, red flags & unusuals

• Qualification gate: the deterministic extract included a turnover threshold line (— use these verbatim for insurance / turnover. If a category (insurance, turnover) has no entry here, treat it as 'not specified' for THIS tender.), which can materially narrow bidder pool composition.
• Contract value was not disclosed in metadata, creating uncertainty on margin, resourcing, and financing assumptions.
• The two-step process (PQQ then ITT) shifted effort to compliance evidence early, with competitive scoring detail potentially deferred.
• Technical and contractual granularity appeared ITT-dependent, increasing ambiguity at qualification stage for non-incumbent bidders.

10. SME fit assessment

This competition looked most accessible to firms with established public-sector tender capability, documented financial capacity, and direct operational experience in the relevant service category.

• Credible bidder profile — mid-sized to large specialist with formal QA/compliance process.
• Consortium / sub-contracting — allowed or addressed in the extracts (Appendix references and reliance provisions).
• Indicative bid-prep effort — 6 to 12 working days for evidence collation, form completion, and review cycles at PQQ level.
• Pwin signal — strongest for bidders with reusable qualification artefacts, comparable references, and low-friction mobilisation capability.

11. Where to dig deeper

• Source RFT/PQQ filenames: Internal Audit Tender 06.01.2026 v1 Stage 1 (002).docx, 3.1 Numbers admitted to the Framework Agreement

[Internal Audit Tender 06.01.2026 v1 Stage 1 (002).docx, 4.10 Freedom of Information

[Internal Audit Tender 06.01.2026 v1 Stage 1 (002).docx.

• eTenders CFT / notice reference: not specified in extract.
• Clarification contact / portal: eTenders message portal (email not surfaced in extract).
• Key attachments to prioritise: APPENDIX A: Qualification Questionnaire 14](#_Toc219548180), Appendix A in this Document. , Appendix A*. Responses will be scored and it is envisaged that the top scoring five (5).