Enterprise Ireland is committed to working with client companies and Irish public sector buyers to facilitate and maximise the contract opportunities available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the public sector in Ireland. The Public Procurement team focuses on raising awareness of the innovative solutions provided by Irish SMEs to the Irish public sector, to targeted channel partners and to global government organisations such as the European Union and the United Nations.
To learn more about how the Enterprise Ireland public procurement team works with Irish SMEs and public sector buyers, please download the following documents:
In Ireland, we target opportunities for increased engagement by SMEs within the primary sectors of:
- Cleantech
- Construction
- Consumer
- Industrial
- Life Sciences and IT for Health
- Print and Packaging
- Software and Services
- Tier 1 System Integrators
Internationally, we are focussing on global government organisations – the EU and the UN.
To learn more about the companies that Enterprise Ireland supports go to our Source from Ireland section where you will find company and sector profiles and directories.
Targeting and winning public procurement contracts
The public sector offers opportunities to SMEs in many sectors to grow their business in Ireland as well as internationally. Public procurement accounts for over 17% of GDP across the EU. The Irish Government spends approximately €14bn annually on a wide array of goods, services and works.
Outside Ireland the opportunities are even larger. For example, the UK spends in the region of £200bn annually on public procurement purchasing similar goods, services and works as Ireland. The EU has a collective budget of €975bn for the years 2007-2013 - much of which will be spent on procurement projects through funding programmes such as:
- European Regional Development Fund / European Social Fund - €278bn
- Cohesion Fund - €70bn
- EU External Aid Programme - €56bn
Green public procurement and sustainable supply chain practices
Looking for a competitive edge to winning public contracts? There are a number of policies within the European Commission that are currently stimulating corporate activities towards supplying more environmentally-friendly solutions, particularly life-cycle costing.
Enterprise Ireland supports
In addition to sourcing tender opportunities for companies, Enterprise Ireland offers a range of funding and capability-building activities that will help prepare and enhance companies’ ability to successfully bid and win public contracts.
Please see links below for further details.
- Go2Tender: Managed by InterTradeIreland, this programme aims to give you the confidence, knowledge and skills to tender successfully for public sector contracts particularly on a cross-border basis.
- Build Export Selling Capabilities: Enterprise Ireland programmes and grant supports designed to assist companies to develop their selling capabilities.
- Enterprise Ireland GreenTech Offer: Supports for improving the environmental efficiency of your products/services.
Key contacts/more information
Clients of Enterprise Ireland should contact their Development Adviser in the first instance.
You may also contact the the Enterprise Ireland Public Procurement Team:
Leo McAdams
Manager - Public Procurement Unit
Tel: + 353 (1) 727 2938
Mobile: +353 87 263 7659
 | Leo McAdams |
Simon Bradshaw
Cleantech and Construction
Tel: +353 1 727 2132
| Simon Bradshaw |
Maria Gavin
Transport, Industrial, Security+ and Consumer
Tel: +353 1 727 2887
| Maria Gavin |
Brianne McCarthy
Life Sciences, Healthcare and IT for Health
Tel: +353 1 727 2910
Mobile: +353 87 1312095
| Brianne McCarthy |
Orlagh Murphy
Capital Investment Projects
Tel: + 353 1 727 2965
| Orlagh Murphy |
Deirdre O'Neill
Software and Services
Tel: + 353 1 727 2145
| Deirdre O'Neill |
Evelyn Smith
Global Government Organisations
Education, Training and Communication
Tel: +353 1 727 2717
| Evelyn Smith |
Useful Links
Procurement legislation and advice
Tendering Opportunity Websites