Call for Tender for the provision of Hot Meals under the School Meals Scheme to Bunscoil Rinn an Chabhlaigh 13450F

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

Bunscoil Rinn an Chabhlaigh ran this procurement for “Call for Tender for the provision of Hot Meals under the School Meals Scheme to Bunscoil Rinn an Chabhlaigh 13450F” 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:

• ion area and/or servery area, if any** Meals Pre-Prepared Off-Site and Heated in the School by use of an External Pod or Mobile Catering Unit Minimum Annual Turnover Required of Service Provider €396,614.00 **This is a single stage tender p
• e required to hold for the term of the Services Contract, the following insurances: Type of Insurance Indemnity Limit Employer’s Liability* €13 million limit, for any one claim or series of
• Minimum Annual Turnover Required of Service Provider €396,614.00
• 1 Subject to the terms of the Services Contract the Contracting Authority shall pay the sum of €3.20 (VAT exempt) per student per day (the “Fee”) for each hot meal provided and del
• Subject to the terms of the Services Contract the Contracting Authority shall pay the sum of €3.20 (VAT exempt) per student per day (the “Fee”) for each Hot Meal provided and del
• Minimum Annual Turnover Required of Service Provider €396,614
• rer shall be required to supply its Tax Clearance Access Number and Tax Reference Number to facilitate online verification of their tax status by
• The successful Tenderer must provide service on each of the 183 days, other than for exceptional and/or unfo
• ent the full amount of the aggregate service credits within 30 days of the date of the receipt of an invoic
• No. of Students to be provided with the Service 681
• Contract Type Services
• 1.1 The Board of Management of Bunscoil Rinn an Chabhlaigh (the “Contracting Authority”) invites tenders (“Tenders”) to this call for tenders (“CFT”) from economic operators “Tenderers”) for the provision of the services as described in Appendix 1 to this CFT (the “Services”). 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.

• Cyber Liability €1 million, Any One Claim and in the aggregate per Insurance policy year
• 1.2 In summary, the Services comprise: The provision of catering services to provide HOT MEALS to the students of the Contracting Authority in full compliance with the Department of Social Protection’s School Hot Meals Scheme. The Contracting Authority requires that the Services are made available each day of the school year for the total number of students as set out in Table 1 above. Provision of Services will begin at the earliest practicable date in academic year 2025/2026 (specific date to be agreed and subject to confirmation of funding). The school calendar will be furnished to the successful Tenderer at the beginning of each school year. For the avoidance of doubt: 1. Please note, that it is a mandatory requirement of the Contracting Authority that Tenders are submitted on the basis that
• [CFT-Hot-Meals-above-E750K-V1.3-Bunscoil Rinn an Chabhlaigh, 13450F 26092025.docx] subject to confirmation of funding). The school calendar will be furnished to the successful Tenderer at the beginning of each school year. For the avoidance of doubt: 1. Please note, that it is a mandatory requirement of the Contracting Authority that Tenders are submitted on the basis that all meals will be prepared and delivered/served in accordance with service delivery model 3 (the “Service Delivery Model”) listed below (do not delete any of these options): 1. Meals Pre-Prepared Off-site and Delivered Ready to Eat The items are to be prepared off-site and are required to be delivered hot to each classroom ready to be eaten in a timely manner in advance of the student’s lunch time. Food must be at the classrooms at the beginning of the lunch break. 1. Meals Pre-Prepared Off-Site and Heated in the School’s Designated Preparation and/or Servery Area The items are to be pre-prepared off-site and heated on-site and are required to be delivered/available to each classroom in a timely manner in advance of the student’s lunch time. Food must be at the classrooms, ready to be eaten, at the beginning of the lunch break. See further details on the designated food preparation and/or servery area in Appendix 1 below. 1. Meals Pre-Prepared Off-Site and Heated in the School by use of an External Pod or Mobile Catering Unit The items are to be pre-prepared off-site and heated on-site and are required to be delivered/available to each classroom in a timely manner in advance of the student’s lunch time. Food must be at the classrooms, ready to be eaten, at the beginning of the lunch break. See further details on the designated food preparation and/or servery area in Appendix 1 below. 1. Meals Fully Prepared On-Site The items are to be fully prepared on-site (in the school
• [CFT-Hot-Meals-above-E750K-V1.3-Bunscoil Rinn an Chabhlaigh, 13450F 26092025.docx] at the classrooms, ready to be eaten, at the beginning of the lunch break. See further details on the designated food preparation and/or servery area in Appendix 1 below. 1. Meals Fully Prepared On-Site The items are to be fully prepared on-site (in the school designated food preparation area) and are required to be served/available to each classroom in a timely manner in advance of the student’s lunch time. Food must be at the classrooms, ready to be eaten, at the beginning of the lunch break. See further details on the designated food preparation and/or servery area in Appendix 1 below. 1. No service delivery model/meal option(s) other than that listed above will be accepted and a Tender which proposes an alternative service delivery model/meal option or variations of the stated service delivery model/meal option will be deemed non-compliant and will be rejected; 2. Mandatory Site Visit, all Tenderers are required to visit and review the entire school campus at the mandatory site visit prior to submitting it’s Tender. See MR01 below for details. Tenderers should note that: * Funding for the Hot School Meals Scheme (the Scheme) is provided through the Department of Social Protection (DSP). This Funding is allocated on a school-year basis and must be applied for annually by the school; * There is no automatic entitlement to DSP funding in any year and all applications are considered on the available budget for the Scheme. Whilst this competition is being run for a specific period any contract that may result from this Competition (the “Services Contract”) is entirely dependent on the aforementioned funding, and the Contracting Authority reserves the right to cancel the competition or the Services Contract in the event that funding is no longer available or forthcoming; * Further information on the School Meals Scheme can be found here: [Department of Social Protection](https://eur05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%

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.; ection with activities on the Licensed Property or otherwise in connection with this Licence have appropriate insurance, including but not limited to public liability insurance with a limit of €6,500,000.00 (six million five hundred thousand euros; ) for any one claim, employers liability insurance with a limit of €13,000,000.00 (thirteen million euro) for any one clai
• Certifications — ) for any one claim, employers liability insurance with a limit of €13,000,000.00 (thirteen million euro) for any one clai; for any one claim where advice only is given to the Licensee, cyber liability insurance with a limit of €1,000,000.00 (one million euros) for any one claim, c
• Past experience — not specified for this tender
• Personnel — not specified for this tender
• Geographic / facility constraints — ection with activities on the Licensed Property or otherwise in connection with this Licence have appropriate insurance, including but not limited to public liability insurance with a limit of €6,500,000.00 (six million five hundred thousand euros; ) for any one claim, employers liability insurance with a limit of €13,000,000.00 (thirteen million euro) for any one clai; m, product liability insurance with a limit of €6,500,000.00 (six million five hundred thousand euros 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.
• ection with activities on the Licensed Property or otherwise in connection with this Licence have appropriate insurance, including but not limited to public liability insurance with a limit of €6,500,000.00 (six million five hundred thousand euros
• ) for any one claim, employers liability insurance with a limit of €13,000,000.00 (thirteen million euro) for any one clai
• m, product liability insurance with a limit of €6,500,000.00 (six million five hundred thousand euros
• ) for any one claim, motor cover with a minimum limit of € 1, 300, 000
• 00 (one million three hundred thousand euros) for third party damage for any one accident, professional indemnity insurance with a limit of €6,500,000.00 (six million five hundred thousand euro)

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:
• Appendix 1: Requirements and Specifications
• Appendix 4: Declaration as to Personal Circumstances of Tenderer
• Appendix 6: Confidentiality Agreement
• Appendix 8: Draft Data Processing Agreement
• Clarification / Queries only via eTenders
• Language tenders must be submitted in English

7. Key dates & process

8. Contract terms that matter

Contract duration in the extract: 2 years. 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)
• e required to hold for the term of the Services Contract, the following insurances: Type of Insurance Indemnity Limit Employer’s Liability* €13 million limit, for any one claim or series of
• 1 Subject to the terms of the Services Contract the Contracting Authority shall pay the sum of €3.20 (VAT exempt) per student per day (the “Fee”) for each hot meal provided and del
• Subject to the terms of the Services Contract the Contracting Authority shall pay the sum of €3.20 (VAT exempt) per student per day (the “Fee”) for each Hot Meal provided and del
• e right to extend the Term for a period or periods of up to 12 months with a maximum of 2 such extensions per
• ontinues for 14 calendar days either Party may terminate at 14 days’ notice
• breach(es) (if the breach(es) are capable of remedy) within 30 days after receipt of a request in writing f
• For the Term and for a period of 12 months thereafter (and save in respect of publ

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.
• 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: Nutrition Standards for Hot School M
• Subject to the terms of the Services Contract the Contracting Authority shall pay the sum of €3.20 (VAT exempt) per student per day (the “Fee”) for each Hot Meal provided and del
• The Client shall pay the Contractor €3.20 (VAT exempt) (“the Fees”) for each Hot Meal ordered and delivered to the Client

Minimum-level / mandatory phrases

• Minimum Annual Turnover Required of Service Provider €396,614
• Demonstrate that they have generated a minimum annual turnover equal to or greater than the amount as set out in Table 1 above for each of the three (3) financial years immediately preceding the date of publication of this CFT
• KAM must each, at a minimum, hold a Food Safety/ HACCP qualification and have a minimum of 2 years of experience in a similar role
• Tenderers must: Demonstrate that they have generated a minimum annual turnover equal to or greater than the amount as set out in Table 1 in the CFT for each of the three (3) financial years immediately preceding the date of publication of this CFT

Regulations and standards cited

• 4 File reference number attributed by the contracting authority or contracting entity (if applicable) ([[
• name, title, telephone number, postal address, facsimile number and e-mail address of the nominated entity authorised to represent the Tenderer a
• rer shall be required to supply its Tax Clearance Access Number and Tax Reference Number to facilitate online verification of their tax status by
• 369 of 2006), as amended by S.I. No. 47/2020
• for example, liners that indicate the Cré Ireland logo, the EN 13432 standard or equivalent)
• Where a staff member ceases working with the successful Tenderer or is no longer engaged in the provis

Deadline phrases

• ons) Vetting Act 2012 – 2016, commenced on 29th April 2016, and Department of Education & Youth and Skills circular letters

Scale / volume phrases

• “Licensed Period” 12 months from the Commencement Date but subject
• odel”) listed below (do not delete any of these options): 1. Meals Pre-Prepared Off-site and Delivered Rea
• 1. Meals Pre-Prepared Off-Site and Heated in the
• 1. Meals Fully Prepared On-Site The items are
• The school opens 183 days per year
• The successful Tenderer must provide service on each of the 183 days, other than for exceptional and/or unfo
• thority will pay the successful Tenderer the Fees owed on a 30 days in arrears basis and in line with the p
• e right to extend the Term for a period or periods of up to 12 months with a maximum of 2 such extensions per
• ontinues for 14 calendar days either Party may terminate at 14 days’ notice
• breach(es) (if the breach(es) are capable of remedy) within 30 days after receipt of a request in writing f
• For the Term and for a period of 12 months thereafter (and save in respect of publ
• The Client will pay the Contractor the Fees owed on a 30 days in arrears basis and in line with the p
• 3 24 hours Within 5 school days Every school day
• 3 1 week Contractors Key Account Manager Eve
• ent the full amount of the aggregate service credits within 30 days of the date of the receipt of an invoic
• Complaints to be fully resolved 3-5 days
• 2. Monthly status reports reporting key informat

TENDER DOCUMENTS [CFT-Hot-Meals-above-E750K-V1.3-Bunscoil Rinn an Chabhlaigh, 13450F 26092025.docx, CFT-Hot-Meals-above-E750K-V1.3-Bunscoil Rinn an Chabhlaigh, 13450F 26092025.docx, Appendix 1: Requirements and Specifications.

• eTenders CFT / notice reference: OJEU (Above €750k Procurement Threshold) .
• Clarification contact / portal: [email protected].
• Key attachments to prioritise: Appendix 2: Pricing Schedule, Appendix 3: Tenderer’s Statement, Appendix 4: Declaration as to Personal Circumstances of Tenderer.