Life-Cycle Costing
As Gaeilge: Costáil Saolré
Also known as: LCC, Total Cost of Ownership, TCO
Last reviewed April 2026
An evaluation method that scores bids on total cost of ownership over the asset's life, not just purchase price.
Regulation 68 of S.I. 284/2016 allows authorities to use life-cycle costing as part of a MEAT evaluation. Costs considered can include acquisition, use (energy, water, consumables), maintenance, end-of-life disposal, and external environmental costs such as carbon emissions where they can be monetised. Used in Ireland on vehicle fleets, building projects, IT hardware and lighting upgrades. Methodology must be set out in the tender documents, with data sources accessible to all bidders.
Sources and legal basis
Primary legislation and official guidance. Always confirm the current text on the source before relying on it.
Related terms
MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender)
The evaluation method that weighs quality alongside price: required for most above-threshold Irish contracts.
Award Criteria
The standards used to evaluate tenders and pick the winner, in Ireland either lowest price or MEAT.
Green Public Procurement (GPP)
A policy requiring public bodies to include environmental criteria in contracts: mandatory over €50k in Ireland from 2025.
Get weekly Irish tender alerts by email
TenderWatch Pro
Bidding for Irish public contracts? Let Pro watch the feed for you
TenderWatch Pro matches every new Irish public tender against your capability statement, sends a monthly custom Sector Bid Pack, tracks expiring contracts before they re-tender, and exports award histories to CSV. EUR 490 a year, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
See TenderWatch Pro