Introduction

The Education Procurement Service (EPS) is the Department of Education and Youth (DEY) sector sourcing hub, delivering strategic, professional, and compliant procurement services across Ireland’s education system. Established in 2015, EPS operates as one of four sector‑specific procurement bodies under the national procurement model, working alongside Health, Defence, and Local Government. Together with the Office of Government Procurement (OGP), EPS plays a central role in advancing public service reform by coordinating procurement activity across the State. 

Under this national model, the public service speaks with one ‘voice’ to the market for each category of expenditure. The OGP leads this function for common goods and services purchased by the wider public sector, while the four sector sourcing organisations— including EPS—fulfil this role for sector‑specific categories. 

As the designated Central Purchasing Body (CPB) for Education, EPS also provides sourcing services to all Public Sector Bodies (PSBs) for the following national categories of expenditure: 

• Laboratory / Research Diagnostics, Services & Equipment 

• Agriculture and Veterinary Goods & Services 

• Library Goods & Services 

EPS procures these categories on behalf of all PSBs in line with national policy and in full alignment with OGP processes. Our commitment is to deliver sustainable, value‑for‑money, professional, and compliant sourcing solutions, applying whole‑life‑cycle costing and best‑practice procurement standards across every project. This commitment to our customers is evident in the quality, integrity, and consistency of the services we provide. 

EPS works closely with its stakeholder groups across the education sector to ensure that sectoral needs are fully represented in the development of national frameworks and contracts. We also provide ongoing guidance to support compliant procurement practices in line with national policy, OGP frameworks, and all relevant EU Directives. 

Through collaboration, expertise, and a strong customer focus, EPS continues to strengthen procurement capability across Ireland’s education and public sectors—supporting better outcomes, enhanced value, and a unified approach to national procurement. 

The Department of Education and Youths funds and supports the EPS to deliver on its programme of work, procurement and sourcing strategy into the future.