Quarterly report · Q3 2026
The Tender Index
How much the Irish State is putting out to tender, what contracts are worth, and how hard they are to win.
How is the Irish public tender market moving in Q3 2026?
Irish public bodies published 2,113 tenders on eTenders in Q3 2026, down 24.8% on the same quarter last year.
Hot school meals tenders account for 90 of them, against 766 a year earlier. Leave those out and the market is down 1.1%.
Over the last four quarters the Tender Index stands at 135.6 without school meals, up 7.1% on a year earlier.
The typical contract awarded was worth €209,304, down 4.9% on a year earlier.
Contracts drew 4.5 bids on average, and 20.3% had a single bidder, up 1.0 points on a year earlier.
SMEs won 73.6% of single-winner contracts, unchanged on a year earlier.
Q3 2026 against Q3 2025
| Measure | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tender Index, excluding school mealsRolling four-quarter count, 2019 = 100 | 135.6 | 126.6 | +7.1% |
| Tender Index, all tendersIncludes the hot school meals rollout | 150.5 | 140.2 | +7.3% |
| Typical contract priceMedian awarded value, n=1735 | €209,304 | €220,129 | -4.9% |
| Typical estimate at tenderMedian buyer estimate, n=1277 | €220,000 | €220,000 | 0.0% |
| Average bids per contractn=1653 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 0.00 |
| Single-bidder contractsn=1653 | 20.3% | 19.3% | +1.0 pts |
| Single-winner contracts won by an SMEn=1905 | 73.6% | 73.6% | 0.0 pts |
Volume and estimates count tenders by the date they were published. Prices, bids and SME wins count contracts by the date the award was published, because most recent tenders have not been awarded yet.
By sector
The busiest sectors by tenders published in the last 12 months, classified by the first CPV code on each notice. Last 12 months against the 12 months before.
By buyer type
Who is tendering. The Office of Government Procurement buys on behalf of all departments, so it is shown on its own. Last 12 months against the 12 months before.
| Buyer type | Tenders | Change | Typical price | Avg bids | Single bid | SME wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education | 2,578 | +9.1% | €180k | 3.2 | 27% | 74% |
| Agencies and other bodies | 2,326 | +9.2% | €190k | 5.0 | 19% | 74% |
| Councils | 1,931 | +8.9% | €162k | 4.4 | 18% | 89% |
| Departments and the State | 813 | +17.3% | €243k | 4.3 | 23% | 76% |
| Health | 639 | +7.8% | €338k | 7.8 | 12% | 71% |
| Transport and utilities | 577 | -4.3% | €229k | 5.4 | 12% | 66% |
| Office of Government Procurement | 410 | -15.3% | €320k | n/a | n/a | 45% |
By county
County council and education and training board tenders only. National bodies such as the HSE and OPW serve every county and are not split here. Last 12 months against the 12 months before.
| County | Tenders | Change | Typical price | Avg bids | Single bid | SME wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cork | 307 | +56.6% | €88k | 3.7 | 16% | 89% |
| Dublin | 300 | +2.4% | €248k | 5.3 | 11% | 86% |
| Limerick | 158 | +51.9% | €193k | 4.6 | 17% | 97% |
| Donegal | 142 | -25.7% | €200k | 3.2 | 33% | 87% |
| Mayo | 122 | +48.8% | €133k | 3.7 | 22% | 95% |
| Tipperary | 94 | +59.3% | €147k | 6.4 | 16% | 89% |
| Monaghan | 92 | +50.8% | €202k | 4.0 | 18% | 94% |
| Wexford | 82 | +10.8% | €328k | 5.1 | 15% | 94% |
| Kerry | 74 | -14.9% | €254k | 4.0 | 20% | 98% |
| Waterford | 74 | +15.6% | €157k | 3.6 | 17% | 96% |
| Wicklow | 70 | +9.4% | n/a | 4.2 | 21% | 77% |
| Carlow | 65 | +51.2% | €131k | 3.8 | 18% | 94% |
| Galway | 59 | -44.3% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Kildare | 54 | +3.8% | €106k | 4.3 | 15% | 74% |
| Clare | 53 | +12.8% | €305k | 5.2 | 16% | 90% |
| Louth | 53 | +3.9% | €228k | 3.0 | 30% | 95% |
| Kilkenny | 52 | +62.5% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Roscommon | 52 | +40.5% | €157k | n/a | n/a | 90% |
| Westmeath | 52 | -1.9% | n/a | 5.1 | 10% | n/a |
| Cavan | 47 | -16.1% | n/a | 5.4 | 16% | 90% |
| Leitrim | 43 | -14.0% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Sligo | 40 | -33.3% | €166k | 2.8 | 28% | 90% |
| Laois | 39 | +11.4% | €210k | 4.6 | 23% | 95% |
| Meath | 35 | -18.6% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Get the tenders behind the index every Monday
Every quarter since Q1 2013
| Quarter | Index | Tenders | Above EU threshold | Typical price | Avg bids | Single bid | SME wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 150.5 | 2,113 | 772 | €209k | 4.5 | 20.3% | 73.6% |
| Q2 2026 | 161.9 | 2,726 | 860 | €197k | 4.5 | 22.1% | 77.2% |
| Q1 2026 | 152.5 | 2,128 | 753 | €195k | 4.3 | 19.3% | 73.0% |
| Q4 2025 | 147.5 | 2,307 | 805 | €182k | 4.2 | 21.3% | 73.4% |
| Q3 2025 | 140.2 | 2,811 | 835 | €220k | 4.5 | 19.3% | 73.6% |
| Q2 2025 | 127.9 | 2,151 | 873 | €204k | 4.8 | 18.6% | 74.9% |
| Q1 2025 | 127.8 | 1,818 | 665 | €213k | 4.4 | 20.6% | 71.0% |
| Q4 2024 | 127.4 | 1,860 | 704 | €234k | 4.1 | 21.5% | 72.2% |
| Q3 2024 | 126.7 | 2,054 | 859 | €231k | 4.1 | 23.1% | 75.6% |
| Q2 2024 | 125.1 | 2,141 | 813 | €228k | 3.8 | 24.5% | 72.8% |
| Q1 2024 | 123.5 | 1,795 | 773 | €190k | 3.8 | 25.2% | 75.3% |
| Q4 2023 | 126.9 | 1,815 | 745 | €200k | 4.5 | 21.5% | 72.7% |
| Q3 2023 | 130.8 | 1,956 | 818 | €265k | 3.9 | 22.3% | 71.8% |
| Q2 2023 | 137.2 | 2,046 | 748 | €350k | 4.3 | 20.2% | 75.3% |
| Q1 2023 | 144.2 | 2,003 | 583 | €148k | 3.9 | 28.0% | 84.4% |
| Q4 2022 | 143.2 | 2,051 | 661 | €320k | 3.8 | 24.1% | 77.2% |
| Q3 2022 | 141.7 | 2,355 | 740 | €363k | 4.2 | 21.8% | 73.5% |
| Q2 2022 | 136.2 | 2,475 | 725 | €365k | 4.3 | 21.3% | 74.5% |
| Q1 2022 | 131.5 | 1,944 | 582 | €289k | 4.9 | 18.8% | 78.0% |
| Q4 2021 | 128.8 | 1,956 | 546 | €315k | 5.0 | 19.7% | 75.4% |
| Q3 2021 | 128.5 | 2,016 | 589 | €280k | 4.8 | 21.0% | 74.9% |
| Q2 2021 | 124.7 | 2,188 | 602 | €239k | 5.0 | 19.1% | 76.8% |
| Q1 2021 | 116.2 | 1,773 | 498 | €285k | 5.1 | 15.0% | 74.3% |
| Q4 2020 | 115.6 | 1,938 | 529 | €231k | 5.3 | 15.9% | 77.7% |
| Q3 2020 | 110.6 | 1,787 | 459 | €274k | 5.1 | 17.6% | 79.2% |
| Q2 2020 | 112.4 | 1,662 | 462 | €259k | 5.2 | 19.0% | 72.3% |
| Q1 2020 | 118.3 | 1,736 | 530 | €285k | 4.6 | 26.4% | 74.1% |
| Q4 2019 | 113.3 | 1,632 | 450 | €250k | 4.5 | 22.1% | 70.8% |
| Q3 2019 | 105.0 | 1,897 | 528 | €210k | 4.0 | 27.4% | 72.1% |
| Q2 2019 | 96.2 | 2,025 | 454 | €200k | 5.1 | 28.1% | 64.0% |
| Q1 2019 | 85.5 | 1,427 | 383 | €264k | 3.9 | 33.0% | 69.0% |
| Q4 2018 | 81.1 | 1,121 | 390 | €293k | 4.0 | 37.6% | 80.1% |
| Q3 2018 | 81.5 | 1,355 | 431 | €255k | 3.7 | 38.6% | 78.2% |
| Q2 2018 | 82.2 | 1,363 | 411 | €278k | 3.2 | 38.8% | 69.8% |
| Q1 2018 | 79.6 | 1,157 | 330 | €200k | 3.6 | 38.7% | 72.4% |
| Q4 2017 | 76.0 | 1,145 | 373 | €143k | 3.7 | 41.0% | 70.8% |
| Q3 2017 | 73.1 | 1,399 | 442 | €235k | 4.6 | 35.5% | 72.9% |
| Q2 2017 | 66.5 | 1,201 | 374 | €196k | 4.2 | 34.3% | 74.1% |
| Q1 2017 | 62.4 | 939 | 337 | €276k | 4.0 | 37.5% | 76.9% |
| Q4 2016 | 59.7 | 967 | 360 | €290k | 3.8 | 44.2% | 72.1% |
| Q3 2016 | 55.8 | 993 | 390 | €260k | 4.8 | 38.9% | 74.2% |
| Q2 2016 | 53.6 | 944 | 339 | €220k | 3.4 | 43.2% | 72.9% |
| Q1 2016 | 52.2 | 777 | 303 | €228k | 3.8 | 40.4% | 74.0% |
| Q4 2015 | 51.1 | 722 | 257 | €242k | 3.4 | 51.5% | 75.1% |
| Q3 2015 | 52.2 | 861 | 317 | €200k | 3.7 | 48.9% | 77.6% |
| Q2 2015 | 51.2 | 855 | 312 | €249k | 3.4 | 50.0% | 71.0% |
| Q1 2015 | 48.2 | 710 | 243 | €82k | 3.5 | 52.3% | 76.1% |
| Q4 2014 | 44.0 | 788 | 267 | n/a | 3.2 | 54.6% | 79.3% |
| Q3 2014 | 38.4 | 799 | 195 | n/a | 5.2 | 33.5% | 67.6% |
| Q2 2014 | 33.8 | 670 | 2 | n/a | 4.9 | 27.7% | 64.4% |
| Q1 2014 | 32.1 | 454 | 11 | n/a | 5.0 | 23.3% | 56.3% |
| Q4 2013 | 33.5 | 443 | 5 | n/a | 4.3 | 18.8% | 61.0% |
| Q3 2013 | n/a | 518 | 1 | n/a | 5.4 | 25.3% | 53.3% |
| Q2 2013 | n/a | 564 | 2 | n/a | 3.6 | 32.1% | n/a |
| Q1 2013 | n/a | 536 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
How the index is built
- Source: the Office of Government Procurement, Contract Notices Published on eTenders (data.gov.ie), CC-BY-4.0. Tenders published to 2026-09-30, awards published to 2026-09-29. A quarter appears once the data covers its last day.
- The index is the rolling four-quarter count of tenders published, with the 2019 average set to 100, so seasonal swings wash out.
- Typical price is the median awarded value of contracts with one named winner and a value above €1,000. Framework agreements and lots are left out because their values are ceilings, not prices. The same rule feeds the CPV benchmarks.
- Read the early years with care. Notice counts climb steeply from 2013 to 2019, and some of that rise may reflect how notices were recorded on eTenders rather than growth in the market.
- SME wins count single-winner contracts only, so a framework with one SME among several winners does not count as an SME win.
- Bids exclude dynamic purchasing system and qualification rounds, where a "bid" is an application to join a list.
- Every figure needs at least 30 records behind it. Thinner cells show n/a.
- Hot school meals tenders are counted. The headline also shows the change without them because one scheme produced hundreds of tenders from 2025.
- Download the full series: /data/tender-index.json. The index is rebuilt when the OGP publishes its quarterly data.