DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL is looking to secure the delivery of Christmas trees for the next four years, at a cost of €360,000.

Previous tenders only covered the provision of Christmas trees on a year-to-year basis, so the council wants to set in place an arrangement until 2021, requiring approximately 150 trees a year.

Although that works out to around €600 per tree, that would cover the growing, selecting, and delivery of the trees to points around the city.

The tender requires freshly cut trees to be delivered on a minimum of 10 dates through November each year. 

The council cannot provide exact dates and numbers/sizes of the trees to be delivered per date, as it is not fixed at present and will need to be confirmed with the successful tenderer.

Although the number required is around 150, there was no guarantee that more might not be needed, the council said.

Deliveries would be required at multiple points throughout the city, but only site per trip would be required.

A tree stretching 2.5 metres will be to one delivery site only, with all sites within the Dublin City Council administrative area. 

The council also demands that “upon delivery each tree must be healthy and in a vigorous condition, fully furnished from the stem handle base to the top of the tree, with no damaged, dying, dead or missing branches”. 

In a separate invitation to tender this week, Fingal County Council is seeking to award a contract for the selection, cutting, supply, delivery and erection of 31 individual trees in time for Christmas. 

The budget set out by Fingal is €25,000, and covers just one Christmas season but with the option of extending it further.