Users claim bugs remain in relaunched etenders website

Users of the relaunched etenders website say bugs remain despite assurances that early glitches have been resolved.

The newly-designed procurement portal etenders.gov.ieis aimed at streamlining the process to make it easier for SMEs to win public contracts.

One of the key objectives of the site was to reduce the unwieldy paper trial associated with each bid, something which had proved a headache for suppliers in the past.

Users have been reporting frustration with login problems, page errors, site crashes, failure of personal and tender information to update and inconsistent search results.

The National Procurement Service (NPS), which has overall responsibility for the etenders website, acknowledged yesterday there were delays in accessing the system and the helpdesk during the initial days.

Despite a plan to deal with heightened activity during the relaunch phase, it said, a “unforeseen spike” in traffic caused initial server and access issues.

It claims these have subsequently been resolved.

However, several users yesterday said that, while the login problems appeared to have been fixed, the site remained “very slow”.

The NPS said all registered users were sent an email in advance of the relaunch with a dummy password, inviting them to re-register. All details, relating to each users’ account, had been transferred across to the new system, and there was no question of having to input data again, he said.

However, users who contacted by The Irish Times claim existing business alert preferences and previous “expressions of interest” had been lost.

This might explain why some users said they were not receiving daily email notifications of relevant RFTs(request for tenders)/PQQs(pre-qualification questionnaires).

The contract to build the new site was outsourced by the NPS to Swedish company EU Supply after no Irish companies bid for the tender.

The NPS said: “The service provider has clarified that the range of queries to the helpdesk relates to people building their knowledge about how to access the system and navigating through it rather than any system error.

“Since the launch earlier this week, the NPS has become aware of the concerns raised by these queries. We are in technical discussions with our service provider to ensure these are resolved as a matter of urgency,” it added.