RTÉ seeks 'best possible value for money' in €500k tender for branded cups, t-shirts, and pens
The public broadcaster has issued a call to tender to qualified companies to join a framework for the provision of 'promotional goods and branding services'.
The contract in question is set to last five years and will likely see four companies making up the framework. The tender documents note that RTÉ is comprised of 'many different business areas each with its own needs and requirements for branded promotional goods'.
The required merchandise will be made out in three specific orders – high volume items such as pens, cups, t-shirts, and phone accessories; medium volume units such as water bottles, umbrellas, and jackets; and a low volume order for more sporadically required products such as pull-up or standing display banners for individual events.
The broadcaster said it requires applicants to supply merchandise that allows for 'flexibility, sustainability, dynamism and innovation'. A spokesperson said that the tender is 'necessary to support our programmes and services and RTÉ's portfolio of public events'.
They said that branded clothing and items are required for on-screen presentation, while branded merchandise such as water bottles and stationery are 'offered to members of the public at RTÉ public events' including the St Patrick's Festival and the National Ploughing Championships.
The €500,000 value on the tender 'represents an estimate, not a committed spend', the spokesperson said, adding that it is 'vital that RTÉ delivers the best possible value for money when ordering these items'.
RTÉ has issued a number of new tenders in recent times for the procurement of services, including €249,000 last month for the provision of water coolers.
The broadcaster has faced a great deal of scrutiny of its finances in the wake of a series of scandals which began in June of 2023 after it emerged star presenter Ryan Tubridy had been secretly paid a salary greater than that declared by RTÉ in its public pronouncements.
In the wake of that bombshell, RTÉ faced a punishing series of independent investigations and interrogations by two separate Oireachtas committees, following which the body received extensive criticism for the secretive and frivolous nature of some expenditure within its commercial division, as well as admonishments as to how the €2m loss-making Toy Show: The Musical had come to be given the green light.
Last summer, the Government elected to bail out the cash-strapped broadcaster to the tune of €725m payable over three years.
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