What does Optus Glean charge per hour?

We do not. Commercial and contract cleaning is delivered to a defined scope on a fixed monthly fee, paid by Direct Debit, with an annual indexed review. Per-hour pricing is for ad-hoc and domestic work, neither of which we do. The fixed monthly fee covers the named primary cleaner, the named relief, all consumables where contracted, all equipment, and the management overhead of running the contract.

What happens if Optus Glean's cleaner is sick?

The named relief is deployed and the site contact is notified by 06:30 on the morning of the absence. The relief is already vetted, inducted, and trained on the site's colour-coded system and IPC standard, so the standard of clean does not change. Substitution is Optus Glean's operational problem, not the buyer's risk to absorb.

How is the fixed monthly fee set?

The fee is set against a defined scope of work — frequency, areas, tasks, consumables, equipment — agreed at contract signature and documented in the service specification. The fee is reviewed once a year against the Consumer Price Index and the Contract Cleaning ERO rate movement, with any change communicated 60 days in advance of the review date. There are no in-year variations unless the scope itself changes.

Why are cleaning services in Galway so inconsistent?

It is a workforce-design problem rather than an effort problem. Most operatives in the sector are part-time or casual, and many also hold healthcare assistant shifts in nursing homes and acute care. When a care shift is offered, the cleaning shift is dropped. Optus Glean removes that dynamic by employing operatives PAYE on guaranteed hours, so the cleaning role is not the secondary income.

How does Optus Glean stop cleaners disappearing for healthcare shifts?

We make the cleaning role the better work. Pay is set above the Contract Cleaning ERO floor (€14.80 per hour, 2026). Hours are guaranteed and rostered weeks in advance. Annual leave is paid. Pension contributions are made. The cleaner has no incentive to substitute a less predictable casual healthcare shift.

Why are some commercial cleaning quotes for Galway so much cheaper than others?

Quotes for the same scope range from around €750-1,100 per month at the lower end to €1,500-1,700 per month at the upper end. The differential is almost entirely driven by employment model. Lower quotes assume a casual workforce where the provider carries no employment risk and passes service-continuity risk to the buyer. Higher quotes assume a PAYE workforce where the provider absorbs that risk.

Is the ERO rate a minimum or a market rate in Galway?

The Contract Cleaning ERO rate of €14.80 per hour is a statutory minimum set under the Labour Court's Sectoral Employment Order. It is a floor, not a ceiling. Providers who pay at the floor are competing for staff with adjacent care-sector roles paying €15-€17 per hour, which is why retention is poor across the lower end of the market.

What evidence is there that this workforce pattern is real?

It is visible in CSO Labour Force Survey data on multi-jobbing in accommodation, administrative support, and human health and social work activities, and in the Workplace Relations Commission's enforcement record under the Contract Cleaning ERO. Practice managers confirm it experientially: the same operative who cleans the practice on Monday is on a healthcare assistant rota at a nearby nursing home on Wednesday.

What happens if my cleaner is sick or on leave?

The named relief is deployed. The site contact is notified by 06:30 on the morning of an unplanned absence, or at the start of the leave period for a planned absence. The relief is already vetted, inducted on the site, and trained on the same colour-coded system and IPC standard as the primary cleaner. The task list, the equipment, and the time window do not change. The clean is delivered to the same standard.

Will I get a different cleaner every week?

No. The model is a named primary cleaner with a named relief, both fixed to the site for the duration of the contract. The relief only attends when the primary is genuinely unavailable — sick day, annual leave, training day — and it is the same named relief each time, not a rotating pool. Long-term continuity of the same two people on a site is what makes the standard of clean stable.

How does Optus Glean handle long-term cover?

For absences longer than two weeks, cover is drawn from the wider Optus Glean trained bench. Every operative on the bench is PAYE-employed, Garda-vetted, and trained to the same documented HIQA-aligned IPC standard, so continuity of standard is preserved. The buyer is informed of the cover plan, the named individuals involved, and the expected duration at the point the long-term absence is identified.

What happens if my primary cleaner leaves Optus Glean?

The relief is promoted to primary on a planned timetable. A new relief is recruited, vetted, inducted on the site, trained on the colour-coded system and IPC standard, and introduced to the buyer before the handover takes effect. There is no scenario in which the buyer discovers, after the fact, that their cleaner has changed. Continuity is engineered, not improvised.

Healthcare Cleaning Galway | Hospital Cleaning Galway

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Safe Pass Certified

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 Practice has to manage — it is a service that runs.

Why cleaning in Galway 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 Galway. 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 Galway 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.

HIQA-Aligned Healthcare Cleaning Across Galway

Galway is the primary healthcare hub for the west of Ireland. University Hospital Galway (UHG) on Newcastle Road is the main acute hospital for the Saolta University Health Care Group, serving populations across Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, and beyond. It is one of the busiest emergency departments in the country and a major teaching hospital linked to the University of Galway's School of Medicine. Merlin Park University Hospital, located on the eastern side of the city, provides orthopaedic, rehabilitation, and older persons services. The Bon Secours Hospital Galway on Renmore Road and the Galway Clinic at Doughiska provide private hospital care including surgical, medical, and diagnostic services.

Beyond these hospitals, Galway has a dense network of GP surgeries, dental practices, physiotherapy clinics, primary care centres, and nursing homes spread across the city and county. From a multi-GP practice in the city centre to a rural GP surgery in Clifden or Ballinasloe, every healthcare facility is subject to HIQA standards and requires cleaning that meets those standards.

Optus Glean provides specialist healthcare cleaning across Galway with teams trained in infection control protocols, colour-coded cleaning systems, and the documentation required for HIQA compliance.

Healthcare Facilities We Serve in Galway

Hospitals

We provide healthcare cleaning services for hospital environments across the Galway area:

University Hospital Galway (UHG) — Galway's primary acute hospital. Our services cover wards, outpatient departments, ED peripherals, corridors, waiting areas, offices, and canteens
Merlin Park University Hospital — Specialist facility for orthopaedic, rehabilitation, and older persons services. We cover wards, rehabilitation spaces, corridors, and common areas
Bon Secours Hospital Galway — Private hospital on Renmore Road requiring premium cleaning standards across all clinical and non-clinical areas
Galway Clinic — Diagnostic and surgical facility with specialist cleaning needs

GP Surgeries and Medical Centres

We serve GP practices across Galway city (Eyre Square, Salthill, Knocknacarra, Newcastle, Renmore) and the county (Oranmore, Tuam, Athenry, Loughrea, Ballinasloe, Clifden, Oughterard). Each practice receives a tailored specification covering clinical rooms, waiting areas, reception, and decontamination zones.

Dental Practices

Galway's dental practices require specialist cleaning addressing treatment rooms, decontamination areas, waiting rooms, and reception. We serve dental practices in the city centre, suburbs, and county towns with evening and early morning cleaning schedules.

Nursing Homes and Residential Care

Galway's nursing homes and residential care facilities are subject to HIQA registration and inspection. We provide daily cleaning of bedrooms, communal areas, dining rooms, bathrooms, and kitchens. Our teams work sensitively around elderly residents, maintaining hygiene standards while minimising disruption.

Our Healthcare Cleaning Standards

Colour-coded systems — Red (washrooms), blue (general areas), green (kitchens), yellow (clinical areas). No cross-contamination between zones
Hospital-grade disinfectants — Effective against MRSA, C. difficile, norovirus, and other HCAIs
Documentation — Digital cleaning logs with date, time, area, operative name. Audit-ready at all times
Trained staff — Infection control, PPE, hand hygiene, clinical waste, COSHH, patient dignity. Annual refresher training

Healthcare Cleaning Pricing in Galway

GP surgery (100–200 sqm) — €400 to €650/month
Dental practice (100–250 sqm) — €500 to €850/month
Nursing home (20–60 beds) — €1,800 to €4,500/month
Primary care centre — €1,200 to €3,500/month
Hospital departments — Custom pricing based on site survey

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 Practice 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 Practice 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 Practice 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 Practice before the handover takes effect. There is no day on which the Practice discovers, after the fact, that their cleaner has changed.

Substitution is Optus Glean's operational problem, not the Practice'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 healthcare cleaning cost in Ireland in 2026?

A GP practice or primary care centre is priced as a fixed monthly fee per site, set against a defined scope (rooms, frequency, IPC standard) and held under a multi-year contract with an annual indexed review. The Contract Cleaning ERO 2026 sets a €14.80/hour floor for the labour component, but reputable providers price the contract, not the hour. Expect a single line on the invoice and a monthly Direct Debit.

What standards apply to healthcare cleaning in Ireland?

HIQA's National Standards for Infection Prevention and Control, the HSE National Cleaning Standards Manual, the HPSC's hand-hygiene guidelines, and S.I. 7 of 2009 on healthcare-associated infection. The Patient Safety Act 2023 has further raised expectations on documented evidence. A compliant cleaning programme produces an audit trail that maps directly to these standards — colour-coded equipment, two-stage cleaning, and validated disinfection contact times.

Why is healthcare cleaning consistency such a problem in Ireland?

Most Irish cleaning provision is delivered by part-time, casual, or self-employed operatives who often also work as healthcare assistants and rotate between cleaning and care shifts. Housing affordability and wage compression in larger urban areas reinforce this pattern. The result is a different person in your practice most days, no continuity on the IPC standard, and a fragile audit trail at HIQA inspection.

What is HIQA-aligned IPC and why does it matter?

HIQA-aligned infection prevention and control means the daily cleaning programme is documented, executed, and evidenced against HIQA's IPC standards and the HSE National Cleaning Standards Manual. In practice that means colour-coded equipment, two-stage detergent-then-disinfectant cleaning of clinical surfaces, validated contact times per the Safety Data Sheet, signed daily checklists, and records that survive an unannounced inspection.

What's the difference between PAYE and casual cleaning contracts in healthcare?

A PAYE-employed cleaner is on payroll, paid above the Contract Cleaning ERO floor, holds a formal contract of employment, has Garda vetting on file, paid leave, and PRSI/pension contributions through the employer. A casual or self-employed operative is none of those things. PAYE staffing is the only model that supports a named primary cleaner and named relief — which is what continuity in a regulated environment actually requires.

How do I evaluate a cleaning provider for a healthcare setting?

Ask three questions. One: are the cleaners PAYE-employed by the company that signs the contract, or subcontracted? Two: who is the named primary cleaner for my site, and who is the named relief? Three: can the provider produce an IPC-aligned audit pack — colour-coded SOP, signed daily checklists, SDS file, Garda vetting register — that maps to HIQA standards on day one of the contract.

What should be in a cleaning contract for a GP practice?

A defined scope per room, frequencies tied to clinical risk, the IPC standard the contract is delivered against (HIQA / HSE National Cleaning Standards Manual), the named primary cleaner and relief, the auditing programme, the chemical regime (with SDS), Garda vetting confirmation, the fixed monthly fee, the annual indexed review mechanism, and a clean exit clause. No per-hour pricing. No ad-hoc top-up charges.

Who handles clinical waste at a GP practice?

Clinical waste, sharps, and pharmaceutical waste are handled by a licensed healthcare-waste contractor under the Waste Management Acts 1996-2023, not by the cleaning provider. The cleaning team's role is environmental cleaning of waste-holding areas, sharps awareness, and immediate reporting of any found sharps to clinical staff. In Galway, this typically means a separate orange-bag and yellow-sharps collection from a HSE-approved contractor running on a fixed schedule.

Related Services in Galway

Last reviewed: 2026-05-06

Healthcare Cleaning Galway — HIQA-aligned Hospital & Clinical Cleaning