Call for Tenders for the provision of a Telephone switchboard operator service for the Department of the Taoiseach

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

Department of the Taoiseach ran this procurement for “Call for Tenders for the provision of a Telephone switchboard operator service for the Department of the Taoiseach” 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: Call for Tenders for the provision of a Telephone switchboard operator service for the Department of the Taoiseach
• Authority estimates that expenditure on the services to be covered by the proposed Services Contract may amount to some €380,000 (excl
• rer shall be required to supply its Tax Clearance Access Number and Tax Reference Number to facilitate online verification of their tax status by
• [Revised CfT for the provision of a Telephone operator service.docx] Contents
• Appendix 5: Draft Services Contract
• The Department of the Taoiseach (the “Contracting Authority”) invites tenders (“Tenders”) to this request for tenders (“CfT”) from economic operators (“Tenderers”) for the provision of the services as described in Appendix 1 to this CfT (the “Services”).
• The Contracting Authority is inviting suitable qualified service providers to tender for the provision of a Telephone Switchboard operator service for the Department of the Taoiseach. The service will be provided from the premises of the Department situated in Government Buildings, Merrion Street Upper, Dublin D02 R583.
• To act as first point of contact for the Department. As such, each operator will be required to have strong customer service skills;
• [Revised CfT for the provision of a Telephone operator service.docx] strong customer service skills;
• It will also be the responsibility of the service provider to ensure that there will a continuity of service and sufficient staffing cover in place to cater for annual or other periods of leave.
• This public procurement competition (the “Competition”) will be conducted in accordance with the open procedure under the European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016 (Statutory Instrument 284 of 2016) (the “Regulations”). Any contract that may result from this Competition (the “Services Contract”) will be issued for a Term (“the Term”) of three (3) years.
• The Contracting Authority estimates that expenditure on the services to be covered by the proposed Services Contract may amount to some €380,000 (excl. VAT) over the term and any possible extensions. Tenderers must understand that this figure is an estimate only based on current and future expected usage. 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.

• Given the security protocols in place in the Department, entities intending to submit a proposal in response to this CfT should be aware that any staff they might put forward as a suitable candidate to fulfil a role as a Telephone operator in the Government Buildings will be subject to a rigorous process of background checks and vetting by An Garda Síochána.
• Contracting Authority policy seeks to encourage participation on a fair and equal basis by Small and Medium
• Contracting Authority policy seeks to encourage participation on a fair and equal basis by Small and Medium Enterprises (“SME”s) in this Competition. SME’s that believe the scope of this Competition is beyond their technical or business capacity are encouraged, subject to paragraph 2.5, to explore the possibilities of forming relationships with other SME’s or with larger enterprises. Through such relationships they can participate and contribute to the successful implementation of any Services Contract that may result from this Competition and therefore increase their social and economic benefits.

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.; ______________________________ ________________________________ Date ________________________________ Type of Insurance Indemnity Limit Employer’s Liability €12.7 million limit for any one claim or series of cl; aims arising out of a single occurrence with an Indemnity to Principals Clause (if self-employed this is not necessary) Public Liability €6.5 million limit for any one claim or series of cl
• Certifications — not specified for this tender
• 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.
• ______________________________ ________________________________ Date ________________________________ Type of Insurance Indemnity Limit Employer’s Liability €12.7 million limit for any one claim or series of cl
• aims arising out of a single occurrence with an Indemnity to Principals Clause (if self-employed this is not necessary) Public Liability €6.5 million limit for any one claim or series of cl

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 3A: Schedule C - Declaration of non-notifiable foreign financial contributions (valued between €200,000 and €999,000 in the last three years preceding the declaration)
• 022/2560, and where the notifying party has been in receipt of foreign financial contributions which are valued between €200,000 and €999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
• For reporting of foreign financial contributions which are of a value between €200,000 and €999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
• Appendix 3A: Schedule D - Declaration of non-notifiable foreign financial contributions (valued between €1,000,000 and €3,999,000 in the last three years preceding the declaration)
• 2022/2560 and where the notifying party has been in receipt of foreign financial contributions which are valued between €1,000,000 and €3,999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
• For reporting of foreign financial contributions which are of a value between €1,000,000 and €3,999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration, to include all non-notif

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)
• aims arising out of a single occurrence with an Indemnity to Principals Clause (if self-employed this is not necessary) Public Liability €6.5 million limit for any one claim or series of cl
• 022/2560, and where the notifying party has been in receipt of foreign financial contributions which are valued between €200,000 and €999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
• 2022/2560 and where the notifying party has been in receipt of foreign financial contributions which are valued between €1,000,000 and €3,999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
• For the Term and for a period of 12 months thereafter (and save in respect of publ
• This public procurement competition (the “Competition”) will be conducted in accordance with the open procedure under the European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016 (Statutory Instrument 284 of 2016) (the “Regulations”). Any contract that may result from this Competition (the “Services Contract”) will be issued for a Term (“the Term”) of three (3) years.
• The Contracting Authority reserves the right to extend the Term for a period of an additional period of up one (1) on the same terms and conditions, subject the agreement of both parties and the Contracting Authority’s obligations at law.
• The Contracting Authority estimates that expenditure on the services to be covered by the proposed Services Contract may amount to some €380,000 (excl. VAT) over the term and any possible extensions. Tenderers must understand that this figure is an estimate only based on current and future expected usage.

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: Revised CfT for the provision of a Telephone operator service.docx, Appendix 3A: Schedule C - Declaration of non-notifiable foreign financial contributions, Appendix 3A: Schedule D - Declaration of non-notifiable foreign financial contributions.
• eTenders CFT / notice reference: not specified in extract.
• Clarification contact / portal: eTenders message portal (email not surfaced in extract).
• Key attachments to prioritise: Appendix 1: Requirements and Specifications, Appendix 2: Pricing Schedules, Appendix 3: Tenderer’s Statement.