The Optus Glean promise: predictability
Three pillars. Three commitments. No exceptions.
Predictable cost. One fixed monthly fee, set against a defined scope and an annual indexed review. No variable hours. No surprise invoices. No padded callout charges. Budgeted once, paid by Direct Debit, reviewed once a year.
Predictable presence. The site is cleaned every day it is meant to be cleaned. A named primary cleaner is rostered to your contract, supported by a named relief who is already vetted, inducted, and trained on the same colour-coded system and IPC standard. The schedule does not depend on whether one person is available on one day.
Predictable freedom. A single point of accountability. One contract. One named manager. One number to call. Cleaning is no longer a problem the site has to manage — it is a service that runs.
Why cleaning in Clare is structurally hard to get right
Most cleaning provision in Ireland — including in healthcare-adjacent settings — is delivered by a workforce that is structurally part-time and casual. A significant proportion of operatives across the sector also work as healthcare assistants in nursing homes, residential care, and acute hospitals. Cleaning shifts are typically taken when healthcare shifts are not available, and released when they are. This pattern is consistent with CSO labour data on accommodation, food, and administrative-support employment, and it is the underlying reason that buyers across Ireland encounter inconsistency from agencies they have contracted in good faith.
The pattern is reinforced by two background pressures specific to Clare. Housing affordability limits the catchment for any role paying at or near the minimum wage. The Contract Cleaning Employment Regulation Order rate of €14.80 per hour for 2026, set under the Labour Court's sectoral employment framework, sits close enough to flexible care-sector pay that operatives drift toward whichever shift pays slightly more on the day. Both pressures pull cleaning staff away from contracted shifts and toward casual healthcare work.
The result, from the buyer's perspective, is the experience most practice managers, facilities leads, and procurement officers in Clare describe: a clean that is half-completed when the contracted cleaner is available, missed entirely when they are not, and accompanied by recurring conversations with the agency about cover that may or may not arrive.
This is the structural problem Optus Glean is built to solve. Our operatives are fully PAYE-employed with guaranteed weekly hours, paid leave, and pension contributions under Irish auto-enrolment. They are paid above the ERO floor deliberately — because the structural reliability of the service depends on the cleaner choosing to remain in the role rather than rotating through casual healthcare shifts. A named primary cleaner is assigned to your site, supported by a named relief, both Garda-vetted and trained to Optus Glean's documented HIQA-aligned IPC standard.
Professional Post-Construction Cleaning Across County Clare
County Clare is experiencing steady construction activity across residential, commercial, and tourism sectors. Ennis is seeing new housing developments to meet growing population demand. Shannon Free Zone and Shannon Business Park have ongoing commercial construction and refurbishment as multinational companies like Ei Electronics, Lufthansa Technik, GE Aviation, and Zimmer Biomet expand and upgrade facilities. Clare's booming tourism sector drives new hotel builds, holiday let developments, visitor centre upgrades, and restaurant fit-outs along the Wild Atlantic Way, the Cliffs of Moher, and the Burren.
Optus Glean provides specialist post-construction cleaning for builders, developers, and contractors across County Clare. From rough builders cleans that remove construction debris to sparkle cleans that bring properties to handover-ready standard, our Safe Pass certified teams deliver the finish quality that developers, estate agents, and end users expect.
Post-Construction Cleaning Projects in Clare
Ennis Residential Developments
Ennis is the primary residential growth centre in County Clare. New housing estates, apartment developments, and infill projects are being delivered to meet demand from the town's growing population, driven by employment at Shannon Free Zone, Shannon Airport, and Ennis's own expanding services sector. Post-construction cleaning for residential developments involves multiple phases: rough cleaning during the later stages of construction, detailed cleaning of individual units, and sparkle cleaning to handover-ready standard for purchasers and tenants. Clare County Council developments and social housing projects also require professional post-construction cleaning to taking-in-charge standard.
Shannon Commercial and Industrial Construction
Shannon Free Zone's ongoing development includes new factory builds, office fit-outs, warehouse construction, and refurbishment of existing units as multinational tenants expand or upgrade. The wider Shannon area also sees commercial construction including retail developments, hospitality builds near Shannon Airport, and logistics facilities. Industrial post-construction cleaning at Shannon requires Safe Pass certified teams experienced in cleaning to the standards demanded by aviation, medical device, and electronics manufacturing environments.
Tourism Infrastructure and Hospitality Builds
Clare's tourism boom drives continuous construction and refurbishment across the hospitality sector. New hotel builds and extensions, holiday home developments in Lahinch, Doolin, and Spanish Point, visitor centre upgrades at the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren, restaurant and bar fit-outs, and heritage site renovations including Bunratty Castle and Folk Park improvements all require professional post-construction cleaning. Our experience in hotel cleaning means we understand the finish standard expected for guest-facing hospitality properties.
Renovation and Refurbishment Projects
Beyond new builds, Clare has a significant renovation and refurbishment market. Period property renovations in Ennis town centre, farmhouse conversions across rural Clare, Shannon Free Zone facility upgrades, and heritage building restorations all generate post-construction cleaning demand. Renovation cleans often present additional challenges including fine dust from plasterwork, paint removal from fixtures, and cleaning around retained original features that require careful handling.
What Our Clare Post-Construction Cleaning Includes
Phase 1: Rough Clean (Builders Clean)
- Removal of bulk construction debris, packaging, and waste materials
- Sweeping and vacuuming all floors to remove dust, plaster, and debris
- Scraping cement, plaster, and paint splashes from hard surfaces, tiles, and window glass
- Wiping down all surfaces to remove construction dust
- Initial clean of sanitaryware (toilets, sinks, baths, showers)
- Cleaning window frames, sills, and glass (interior)
Phase 2: Sparkle Clean (Final / Handover Clean)
- Detailed cleaning of all rooms to move-in / handover standard
- Full sanitaryware cleaning and polishing
- Kitchen unit cleaning (interior and exterior of cupboards, drawers, countertops, appliances)
- Window cleaning (interior and exterior where accessible)
- Floor cleaning — mopping, scrubbing, or polishing to final finish
- Skirting board, door frame, and architrave cleaning
- Light fitting and switch cleaning
- Snagging support — identifying remaining issues for the builder
Post-Construction Cleaning Pricing in Clare
- Rough clean (builders clean): €4.50 to €8.00 per sqm
- Sparkle clean (handover clean): €6.00 to €12.00 per sqm
- Combined rough + sparkle: €9.00 to €18.00 per sqm
- 3-bed new-build house (combined): €600 to €1,200
- Apartment (combined): €350 to €800
- Commercial / industrial: Priced on bespoke basis following site assessment
All pricing is fixed following a site walkthrough. Volume discounts available for multi-unit residential developments. No hidden charges.
Why Clare Builders and Developers Choose Optus Glean
- Safe Pass certified — All operatives hold current Safe Pass cards. Teams complete site-specific inductions, manual handling, COSHH, and working at height training before commencing work.
- Construction site experience — We work on active construction sites daily and understand the phasing, safety requirements, and time pressures of construction projects.
- Developer relationships — We work with builders and developers across Clare on multi-unit residential projects, providing consistent quality across entire developments and meeting estate agent and purchaser expectations.
- Fully insured — €6.5M public liability and €13M employer's liability insurance. All staff Garda vetted.
- Flexible mobilisation — We can mobilise teams within 48–72 hours and adapt to shifting construction timelines.
- Tourism sector finish — For hotel builds and hospitality projects, we deliver the premium finish standard expected for guest-facing properties.
Related Cleaning Services in Clare
- Office Cleaning Clare — Ongoing cleaning for new commercial builds
- Industrial Cleaning Clare — Factory and production floor cleaning at Shannon Free Zone
- Hotel Cleaning Clare — Hospitality cleaning for new hotel builds
- Healthcare Cleaning Clare — Healthcare facility post-build cleaning
- End of Tenancy Cleaning Clare — Rental property deep cleans
- Carpet & Floor Cleaning — New floor sealing and protection
How Optus Glean handles staff shortages
Every Optus Glean contract is staffed on a redundancy model rather than a single-person model. A named primary cleaner is assigned to the site at contract start. A named relief is assigned alongside them. Both are PAYE-employed by Optus Glean, both are Garda-vetted, both are inducted on the site's specific layout, access protocols, and colour-coded equipment system, and both are trained to the same documented HIQA-aligned IPC standard. Substitution is built into the contract from the first day, not arranged on the day cover is needed.
Sick day cover. When the primary cleaner is unable to work, the named relief is deployed. The site site contact is notified by 06:30 on the morning of the absence by SMS or email, with the name of the relief who is attending. The relief follows the same task list, uses the same equipment, and finishes within the same window. The standard of clean is unchanged because the relief was prepared for this scenario before the absence happened.
Annual leave cover. Annual leave is rostered weeks in advance and the relief is scheduled to cover the full leave period. The site is informed at the start of the leave period — not on the morning leave begins. This is the same model used in clinical rota management: known absences are pre-staffed, not improvised.
Long-term cover. If the primary cleaner is absent for more than two weeks (extended illness, parental leave, bereavement leave), cover is drawn from the wider trained bench rather than relying on the single named relief. The site is kept informed of the cover plan, the named individuals involved, and the expected duration. Continuity of standard is maintained because every operative on the bench is trained to the same documented standard.
Permanent reassignment. If the primary cleaner moves to a new permanent role within Optus Glean — promotion, relocation, retirement — the relief is promoted to primary on a planned timetable, a new relief is trained on the site, and both are introduced to the site before the handover takes effect. There is no day on which the site discovers, after the fact, that their cleaner has changed.
Substitution is Optus Glean's operational problem, not the site's risk to absorb. The buyer pays a fixed monthly fee for a defined scope to be delivered, every day it is meant to be delivered. The mechanism by which we deliver it — primary, relief, bench, retraining — is our cost to manage and our risk to carry.
Frequently asked questions
How much does post-build cleaning cost in Ireland in 2026?
Construction post-build cleaning is the one cleaning vertical priced on a fixed-price-per-project basis, not a recurring monthly fee. Pricing is set against the scope (square metres, number of units, level of finish), the trade-out condition, and the handover deadline. The Contract Cleaning ERO 2026 sets a €14.80/hour labour floor that is reflected in the project rate, but the buyer signs a fixed-price-per-project quote, not an hourly call-off.
What's the difference between a builders' clean and a sparkle clean?
A builders' clean is the first-stage post-construction clean — debris removal, dust extraction, gross protection film stripped, surfaces cleaned, sanitaryware washed. A sparkle clean (handover clean) is the second-stage finish — every surface to handover standard, glass and mirrors, fittings and ironmongery polished, snag-list items cleaned, ready for client walkaround. Many projects need both, scheduled in sequence around the snag list.
What standards apply to post-build cleaning in Ireland?
The HSA enforces the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013 across the live site. Operatives must hold a current Safe Pass card before entering. The cleaning provider's method statement, risk assessment, chemical SDS, and PPE schedule must be approved by the principal contractor's safety file. CIRI registration on the contractor side is increasingly a tender pre-qualifier.
Who needs Safe Pass on a construction site?
Every operative on a live Irish construction site needs a current HSA Safe Pass card, including cleaners delivering builders' cleans and sparkle cleans. The card is issued via an HSA-approved one-day course and must be in date — expired cards mean the operative is turned around at the gate. A reputable cleaning provider holds a Safe Pass register and will not deploy a cleaner without one.
What's the difference between PAYE and casual cleaning contracts in construction?
A PAYE-employed cleaner is on the cleaning company's payroll, paid above the Contract Cleaning ERO €14.80/hour floor, Safe Pass-carded, with PRSI and paid leave through the employer. A casual or self-employed operative is none of those things — and casual labour on a construction site exposes the principal contractor to direct liability under the 2013 Regulations. PAYE staffing is the structural baseline that keeps the principal contractor's safety file clean.
How do I evaluate a cleaning provider for a post-build job?
Three checks. One: are the operatives PAYE-employed and Safe Pass-current, with the register available before the job starts? Two: can the provider produce a method statement, risk assessment, and chemical SDS that the principal contractor's safety officer will accept into the project safety file without rework? Three: does the fixed project price align to the handover programme, or is the provider quoting hourly with surprise top-ups?
What should be in a fixed-price post-build cleaning quote?
The defined scope (areas, units, square metres), the cleaning standard (builders' clean, sparkle clean, or both), the chemical and equipment list with SDS, the staffing plan with Safe Pass-current operatives, the programme tied to the principal contractor's handover dates, the snag re-clean policy, the agreed fixed price per project, and payment terms. No per-hour pricing on the cover sheet.
How does the snag list affect handover cleaning?
A sparkle clean is delivered against a defined handover date, but trades inevitably return to address snag-list items, generating fresh dust and finish damage. A reputable provider quotes a snag re-clean within the project price (one or two re-attendances), with any further re-cleans priced as a known unit rate, agreed in writing. In Clare, larger schemes typically build two snag re-attendances into the original fixed-price quote.
Last reviewed: 2026-05-06