FAQ

Frequently asked questions. Click on one of the items below.


Can I attach additional documents to a notice?
 
 
You can attach all documents required for the tendering process when creating a notice.

During the create notice procedure, you will encounter a page entitled Add Additional Documents

Enter the title of the document you wish to add together with the path/filename of the document.
Alternatively, click the Browse button to locate the file/document you wish to attach.
Click the Add button to upload the document and attach it to your notice.
Repeat the process for each of the files/documents you wish to attach.
 

 
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Can I cancel a notice?
 
 
Notices can be edited and changed at any time BEFORE publication. Once a notice has been published, amendments can be made in the form of providing additional information to the notice. This can also include changing the deadline date of the notice and cancelling the notice.

In each case, any supplier, who has expressed an interest in the notice since publication, will be notified of the further information.

To add further information, change the notice deadline date or cancel a published notice, click on the notice in the Notice Workspace, then click on the notice and use appropriate link in the 'published details' section.
 

 
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Can I change a published notice?
 
 
Notices can be edited and changed at any time BEFORE publication.

Once a notice has been published, amendments can be made in the form of providing additional information to the notice. This can also include changing the deadline date of the notice and cancelling the notice.

In each case, any supplier, who has expressed in interest in the notice since publication, will be notified of the further information.

To add further information, change the notice deadline date or cancel a published notice, click on the notice in the Notice Workspace, then click on the appropriate link in the 'Published Details' of the notice.
 

 
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Can I change my sign-in password?
 
 
Your sign-in password is chosen by yourself when you first register with the site. During the registration process you will be asked to enter a password and confirm it.

You can change your password at any time by following the instructions below -

Click the sign-in link from the left-hand menu and sign-in using your email address and existing password.

From the left hand menu select 'Buyers Pages' or 'Suppliers Pages' and click the 'Change Password' link.

Enter in your old password, new password and new password again in the appropriate fields.

Click the Save button.

The next time you are required to Sign In you should enter your new password.
 

 
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Can I delete a notice before it is published?
 
 
Notices can be edited or deleted at any time BEFORE publication.

Once a notice has been published, amendments can be made in the form of providing additional information to the notice. This can also include changing the deadline date of the notice and cancelling the notice.

In each case, any supplier, who has expressed an interest in the notice since publication, will be notified of the further information.

To add further information, change the notice deadline date or cancel a published notice, click on the notice in the Notice Workspace, then click on the appropriate link in the 'Published Details' of the notice.
 

 
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Can I demand my suppliers use the site to obtain notices?
 
 
Not yet. EU legislation states you must provide a paper copy if suppliers insist on it. This may change in the future.
 

 
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Can I download attachments from an expired notice?
 
 
Only the Buyer/Awarding Authority can do so. On the tender notice, click the express your interest now link. You will be prompted to enter your email address. The subsequent page can be printed and the attached documents can be opened or saved to your own PC.

Suppliers can view the original tender notice but cannot download attachments after the expiry date.
 

 
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Can I link to eTenders from our own website?
 
 
Yes. Contact us to obtain details on how to set up a link to our site on your site.
 

 
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Can I open attachments online?
 
 
You can view the attachments of any notice in which you have expressed and interest.

Attachments are documents or files that accompany a tender notice and provide further information about the notice and/or the publishing authority.

Click on the Supplier Home link on the shortcuts list at the left of the page.

On the your home page, identify the line View details of notices you have registered an interest in.

Click on the here link and this will show you the list of tender notices you have expressed an interest in.

To view further details and/or open/save any additional documentation click the tender title and then click on the additional document tab.
 

 
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Can I print the page without registering an interest?
 
 
Yes, but if you wish to be kept informed of any changes/clarifications regarding the tender you need to express an interest.
 

 
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Can the site handle large files, like multiple Autocad drawings?
 
 
Yes. Tenders documents will be sent to the supplier as an attachment to an email.

However, publishing authorities are advised to keep documents files as small as possible to help the supplier.
 

 
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Displaying Your Notices
 
 

Displaying Your Notices
You can provide your suppliers or internal users with a link to a list of your published notices. In order to use this facility you will need to know the ID allocated to your organisation when using the eTenders web site.

The ID can be found at the foot of your home page.



You can direct users to a list of your notices by publishing the following link:



http://www.etenders.gov.ie/Search/auth_noticeList.aspx?ID=AAxxxxx



where AAxxxxx is replaced by your authority ID.



If you wish the notice list to be restricted by notice type, the following link applies:



http://www.etenders.gov.ie/Search/auth_noticeList.aspx?ID=AAxxxxx&Doc=x

where x=1 - Tenders: x=2 - Contract Awards: x=3 - PIN Notices



This will display a page from the eTenders website that lists of all your published notices. When a user clicks on title of a notice they will be redirected to the eTenders web site where full details of the notice will be displayed.



If you wish to remove the eTenders 'branding' from the list you should use the following link format:



http://www.etenders.gov.ie/Search/auth_noticeList.aspx?ID=AAxxxxx&ShowHeader=False



This will remove the eTenders header menu and logo, together with the sidebar menu and display a simple list of your tenders.

You also have the option to have the full notice details displayed in a separate browser window by using the following link format:



http://www.etenders.gov.ie/Search/auth_noticeList.aspx?ID=AAxxxxx&ShowHeader=False&NewPage=True
 

 
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Do I have permission to publish notices?
 
 
Every authority user of the site is allocated a permission level that will allow them access to certain functions.

Each Authority has a person responsible for allocating permissions to persons involved in the procurement process.

After registering, contact your departmental manager or the procurement manager of your organisation and they will allocate the appropriate permission level.
 

 
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Do I have to use this site?
 
 
At the moment, neither publishers or suppliers are obliged to use this service. However, it may make sense to incorporate it into your existing procedures.

It will definitely save time & effort in the long run, and contributes significantly to the twin objectives of transparency in public sector contracts, and promotion of Government eCommerce initiatives.
 

 
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Do I have to wait for a password to be issued?
 
 
Your sign-in in password is chosen by yourself, when you first register with the site. During the registration process you will be asked to enter a password and confirm it.

You can change your password at any time by following the instructions below -

Click the Sign-In link and sign in, using your email address and existing password.

On your home page, identify and click the Change Password link.
Enter in your old password, new password and new password again in the appropriate fields.

Click the Save button.

The next time you are required to Sign In you should enter your new password.
 

 
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Do I still have to publish in the OJEC journal?
 
 
Any notice that a publishing authority publishes on eTenders.gov.ie will also be published on OJEU, if the notice meets the required criteria.
 

 
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How do I download attached documents?
 
 
On the tender notice, click the 'express your interest now' link. You will be prompted to enter your email address. The subsequent page gives options - Send Full Notice Text and/or Attach any Additional Documents. By clicking on the Save button, the documents will be sent to your email address as an attachment.
 

 
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How do I know if there are any documents attached?
 
 
Any notices published on the website which have additional documentation will be highlighted by a paper clip symbol beside their entry on the Search List.

When the details of a tender notice are viewed, a list of attached documents are displayed also.
 

 
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How do I register?
 
 
To register, click on the Register link, then complete the registration form (name, address, email, phone, password etc.).

You will be contacted by email to verify your details, then you'll receive confirmation of your sign in name and password by email.
 

 
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How do I search for notices?
 
 
To view tender notices, click on the Notice Search link at the top of any page. The page displayed will show a list of published notices, ordered by publication date. Also displayed on the left of the page is a search frame. This search frame is headed Search Options and allows you to choose or enter various criteria to limit your search.

Use the search frame to tailor your search to identify opportunities you are interested in exploring further.

The following options are available on the search frame -

Category

Clicking any category from the list will limit the search to only notices in that category.

Keywords

Enter a single word which best describes the type of notices you wish to view. e.g. Wheelchairs

Doc Type

Chose the type of document you wish to view -

Tenders Notices + PINS will show both published notices and prior information notices

Tenders Notices Only will show only published tender notices

PINS Only will show only prior information notices

Reset

Clicking this button will clear the search frame.

Search

Clicking this button will perform the search you have defined.

Help

Clicking this button will display this help page

More Options

Clicking this button will display an additional search frame entitled Advanced Search Options which will allow you to choose or enter further search criteria.



Clicking on the title of any of the notices on the list will take you to a page showing details of the notice. You can the register your interest in a notice and obtain further documentation etc.
 

 
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How do I view attachments?
 
 
You can view the attachments of any notice in which you have expressed and interest.

Attachments are documents or files that accompany a tender notice and provide further information about the notice and/or the publishing authority.

Click on the Supplier Home link on the Quick Links list at the left of the page.

On the your home page, identify the line ¿View details of notices you have registered an interest in¿ Click on the here link and this will show you the list of tender notices you have expressed an interest in.

To view further details and/or open/save any additional documentation click the tender title and then click on the additional document title.
 

 
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How does it work?
 
 
Tender notices and documents are prepared by publishing authorities in the normal way and are then posted on the site.

Suppliers can then search for and view the notices and, if they wish, obtain the accompanying notice documentation. Suppliers must be registered with the service to do this.

A record of everyone who has registered an interest in a particular notice is available to the purchasing authority, and can subsequently contact suppliers for any further communication.
 

 
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How much does it cost ?
 
 
The eTenders service is centrally funded and is provided free to both publishing authorities and suppliers.
 

 
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Is it available in Gaeilge?
 
 
Yes. Tender notices will not be translated, but a large proportion of the information will be available in the Irish language.
 

 
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Is there more tendering information available anywhere?
 
 
Yes. Clicking on the Guides link will enable you to obtain various items of information for suppliers, those publishing notices and those affected by Irish and EU legislation.
 

 
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We already put tenders on our own website. Can we still use this site?
 
 
Yes. Instead of putting the documents on two sites and trying to maintain both lists of documentation, you can easily put a link to your own site from the eTenders site.
 

 
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What happens with OJEU notices
 
 
At present, OJEU notices are uploaded daily after publication in the OJEU. An email is sent to the awarding authority contact given in the notice when/if the notice is published on the eTenders website.

In future, Awarding authorities will be able to create OJEU notices on the eTenders site and they will be automatically published on both the OJEU and the eTenders website.
 

 
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What is www.etenders.gov.ie and who is it aimed at?
 
 
What is www.etenders.gov.ie and who is it aimed at?
This site is part of the eProcurement initiative. It streamlines the tender process, and removes much of the administration burden.

It is used by public sector authorities to publish their prior information notices (PIN) , Request for Tender notices (RFT) and contract award notices (CAN).

Suppliers

Suppliers currently spend considerable time looking through the EU journal and newspapers and various websites to try and spot business opportunities. Using the eTenders service, all public sector opportunities can be identified, using various search criteria. Suppliers can quickly identify opportunities, and obtain the tender documentation immediately.

Once registered on www.etenders.gov.ie you will be able to express an interest in any tender notice published by a public sector organisation. Once and interest has been expressed, you will be sent a copy of the tender notice, which includes contact details of the publishing authority. You can also obtain any additional documents or files - Attachments - which support the tender notice. You will also be notified if the tender notice is changed in any way during the process.



Authorities
 

 
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Who manages the site?
 
 
The Department of Finance of the Irish Government manages the site.
 

 
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Who runs the site?
 
 
The site is maintained by Millstream Associates Ltd on behalf of the public sector, overseen by the Department of Finance.
 

 
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Why should I use this website?
 
 
What is www.etenders.gov.ie and who is it aimed at?
This site is part of the eProcurement initiative. It streamlines the tender process, and removes much of the administration burden.

It is used by public sector authorities to publish their prior information notices (PIN) , Request for Tender notices (RFT) and contract award notices (CAN).

Suppliers

Suppliers currently spend considerable time looking through the EU journal and newspapers and various websites to try and spot business opportunities. Using the eTenders service, all public sector opportunities can be identified, using various search criteria. Suppliers can quickly identify opportunities, and obtain the tender documentation immediately.

Once registered on www.etenders.gov.ie you will be able to express an interest in any tender notice published by a public sector organisation. Once and interest has been expressed, you will be sent a copy of the tender notice, which includes contact details of the publishing authority. You can also obtain any additional documents or files - Attachments - which support the tender notice. You will also be notified if the tender notice is changed in any way during the process.
 

 
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