Request for Tenders for the supply of Ambient Food Products to the Houses of the Oireachtas Catering Facilities

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

Houses of the Oireachtas Service ran this procurement for “Request for Tenders for the supply of Ambient Food Products to the Houses of the Oireachtas Catering Facilities” 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: Request for Tenders for the supply of Ambient Food Products to the Houses of the Oireachtas Catering Facilities
• Buyer: Houses of the Oireachtas Service
• 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 Self-Service Restaurant can cater for up to 500 meals in any given day
• The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (the “Contracting Authority”) invites tenders (“Tenders”) to this request for tenders (“RFT”) from economic operators (“Tenderers”) for supply of the goods as described in Appendix 1 to this RFT (the “Goods”).
• The supply and delivery of ambient food products to the Houses of the Oireachtas Catering Facilities.
• Contracting Authority policy seeks to encourage participation on a fair and equal basis by Small and Medium Enterprises (“SME”s) in this Competition. SMEs 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 SMEs or with larger enterprises. Through such relationships they can participate and contribute to the successful implementation of any Goods Contract that may result from this Competition and therefore increase their social and economic benefits.
• Larger enterprises are also encouraged, subject to paragraph 2.5, to consider the practical ways that SMEs can be included in their proposals to maximise the social and economic benefits of any Services Contracts that may result from this Competition.
• 2.1.5 The Contracting Authority would refer Tenderers in particular to the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2022/1031 on the access of third country economic operators, goods and services to the Union’s public procurement and concession markets and procedures supporting negotiations on access of Union economic operators, goods and services to the public procurement and concession markets of third countries (International Procurement Instrument – IPI), and to their obligation to comply therewith.
• 2.8.2 Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph 2.8.1, all costs and expenses relating to the supply of samples for purposes of tendering and their return after evaluation or participation in field trials (if any) will be borne exclusively by the Tenderer.
• In the performance of any Goods Contract awarded, the successful Tenderers and their Subcontractors (if any), shall be required to comply with all applicable obligations in the field of environmental, social and labour law that apply at the place where the services are provided, that have been established by EU law, national law, collective agreements or by international, environmental, social and labour law listed in Schedule 7 of the Regulations.
• It will be a condition of any Goods Contract pursuant to this Competition that the successful Tenderer(s) shall, for the term of such contract(s), comply with all applicable EU and domestic tax laws. Tenderers are referred to www.revenue.ie for further information. Prior to the award of any Goods Contract arising out of this Competition the successful Tenderer shall be required to supply its Tax Clearance Access Number and Tax Reference Number to facilitate online verification of their tax status by the Contracting Authority. By supplying these numbers the successful Tenderer acknowledges and agrees that the Contracting Authority has the permission of the successful Tenderer to verify its tax cleared position online. 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.

• Contracting Authority policy seeks to encourage participation on a fair and equal basis by Small and Medium Enterprises (“SME”s) in this Competition. SMEs 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 SMEs or with larger enterprises. Through such relationships they can participate and contribute to the successful implementation of any Goods Contract that may result from this Competition and therefore increase their social and economic benefits.
• Tenderers must provide a brief description of their history/profile which indicates their involvement in supplying similar goods within this industry.

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.; ave the following insurances in place Insurance Type Level required if successful Level in Place Details of Any Excess Renewal Date Employers Liability €12,700,000 € Public Liability €6,500,000 € Product Liability €6,500,000 € AND AND AND AND A; €120,000 Lot 6 – Frozen savoury products €180,000 Lot 7 – Cooked meat products €100,000 Type of Insurance Indemnity Limit Employer’s Liability €12,700,000 Public Liability €6,500,000 Product Liability €6,500,000 Lot No
• Certifications — €120,000 Lot 6 – Frozen savoury products €180,000 Lot 7 – Cooked meat products €100,000 Type of Insurance Indemnity Limit Employer’s Liability €12,700,000 Public Liability €6,500,000 Product Liability €6,500,000 Lot No
• Past experience — or one of the last three years as set out in Table 1 below (unless the date of establishment is within the last twelve (12) months, in which case the minimum annual turnover required shall be adjusted on a pro-rata basis based on the number of months of establishment – for example, a Tenderer established for six (6) months will have to demonstrate a turnover of €420,000 to apply for Lot 1)
• 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.
• ave the following insurances in place Insurance Type Level required if successful Level in Place Details of Any Excess Renewal Date Employers Liability €12,700,000 € Public Liability €6,500,000 € Product Liability €6,500,000 € AND AND AND AND A
• or one of the last three years as set out in Table 1 below (unless the date of establishment is within the last twelve (12) months, in which case the minimum annual turnover required shall be adjusted on a pro-rata basis based on the number of months of establishment – for example, a Tenderer established for six (6) months will have to demonstrate a turnover of €420,000 to apply for Lot 1)
• €120,000 Lot 6 – Frozen savoury products €180,000 Lot 7 – Cooked meat products €100,000 Type of Insurance Indemnity Limit Employer’s Liability €12,700,000 Public Liability €6,500,000 Product Liability €6,500,000 Lot No
• Lot Description Minimum Annual Turnover Requirement 1 Dairy Products €840, Limit Employer’s Liability €12,700,000 Public Liability €6,500,000 Product Liability €6,500,000 Lot No
• Lot Description Minimum Annual Turnover Requirement 1 Dairy Products €840,000.00 2 Pantry Goods €840,000

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:
• Tenderers must confirm that they will provide advance written notice (minimum of 7 working days) to the Contracting Authority of any proposed goods substitution, in accordance with Appendix 1, Section 2
• Invoices must show the successful tenderer’s VAT Number and must be submitted with a copy of the signed delivery note at the time of subm
• Appendix 1: Requirements and Specifications
• Appendix 4: Declaration as to Personal Circumstances of Tenderer
• Appendix 6: Confidentiality Agreement
• The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (the “Contracting Authority”) invites tenders (“Tenders”) to this request for tenders (“RFT”) from economic operators (“Tenderers”) for supply of the goods as described in Appendix 1 to this RFT (the “Goods”).

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)
• Lot Description Minimum Annual Turnover Requirement 1 Dairy Products €840, Limit Employer’s Liability €12,700,000 Public Liability €6,500,000 Product Liability €6,500,000 Lot No
• Lot Description Minimum Annual Turnover Requirement 1 Dairy Products €840,000.00 2 Pantry Goods €840,000
• NOW IT IS HEREBY AGREED in consideration of the sum of €2.00 (the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged by the Contractor) as follows:
• Lot Description Minimum Annual Turnover Requirement
• e right to extend the Term for a period or periods of up to 12 months with a maximum of 4 such extension or e
• e right to extend the Term for a period or periods of up to 12 months with a maximum of 4 such extensions per
• ontinues for 10 calendar days either Party may terminate at 14 days’ notice

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: 20240322 RFT for Ambient Goods FINAL.docx, Appendix 1, Section 2, RFT for Ambient Goods FINAL.docx] h.
• 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 Schedule, Appendix 3: Tenderer’s Statement.