The State’s charity watchdog has appointed inspectors to conduct an investigation into the Peter McVerry Trust, deepening the crisis facing the homelessness charity.
In a statement, the Charities Regulator said it was launching a full statutory investigation into concerns around finances and governance at the trust.
This follows a decision last month by the the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA), who regulate non-profit housing bodies, to open a statutory investigation into financial issues at the charity.
Helen Martin, chief executive of the Charities Regulator, said the watchdog had determined a statutory investigation was warranted.
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The Charities Regulator would “work closely” with AHBRA, “so that our activities are co-ordinated in so far as is consistent with our respective statutory functions”, she said.
[ Concerns raised over ‘potential mismanagement’ of Peter McVerry Trust donationsOpens in new window ]
Speaking earlier on Thursday, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said he is keeping a “very close eye” on the deepening crisis in the Peter McVerry Trust, following the resignation of the chief executive of the homeless charity.
Mr O’Brien said he believed officials had not yet “gotten to the bottom of the situation” facing the charity.
The chief executive of the charity, Francis Doherty, tendered his resignation yesterday, claiming the charity’s board had made his position “untenable”.
Mr Doherty, who took over as head of the trust this June, raised concerns about the “potential mismanagement” of donations by the homelessness charity, as well as “repeated and long-standing governance failings” over several years.
He also outlined that the charity had been facing “imminent financial collapse” in July, and remained in the middle of a major financial crisis.
The Minister said it was not for him to say whether he had confidence in the charity’s board at present, as an independent statutory investigation by the State’s housing body regulator was underway.
“I’m not into providing a soundbite or a trite answer to what’s perceived as a simple question. It isn’t actually, we have to let due process take place in this regard,” he said.
“What’s being looked into now is the corporate governance structure that was in place within the board,” he told reporters.
“I don’t want to say too much on it because there’s a process underway. I’m not being evasive, I’ve got to let that work happen and independently,” Mr O’Brien said.
The Minister said last night he wrote to Deirdre-Ann Barr, chair of the trust’s board, seeking assurances the turmoil would not impact on services provided by the trust.
“My priority at the moment is the service users in the Peter McVerry Trust … My absolute focus is making sure those services continue for the people that need them,” he said.
“I as Minister and the department will continue to support that as we work through the process, making sure that corporate governance is as it should be,” he said.
“I have and am keeping a very close eye on the situation, but there’s no risks to services,” he said.
Mr O’Brien said Mr Doherty was a “superb individual” who he was “sorry to see” was leaving the charity.
The Minister said he was sure Fr Peter McVerry, who founded the charity, was “disappointed as to where we are right now”, but added that did not take away from the work he had done over decades.
“I think this controversy that is playing out right now should not take away from the superb work that the team and successive teams at Peter McVerry Trust have done over the years,” he said.
If public confidence in the charity was damaged it was important that work went into restoring trust, he said.
Mr O’Brien was speaking at the launch of a campaign promoting tenants to know their rights by housing charity Threshold.
In his resignation letter, seen by The Irish Times, Mr Doherty said he had identified a “substantial amount of concerning information” about practices in the Peter McVerry Trust that predated his appointment.
These included the “potential mismanagement of donor funds”, the transfer of “restricted funds from the charity to a private business”, as well as issues around “huge” expenditure on a homeless hostel in Co Kildare run by the trust.
Findings from an independent review by auditors PwC indicated financial problems “had arisen over a number of years”, which Mr Doherty said pointed to “repeated and long-standing governance failings”.
A spokeswoman for the charity said it was “disappointed” Mr Doherty had resigned, but its priority was the continuity of care for those in its services.
“Our focus remains on the future of the organisation. We will co-operate with all stakeholders to achieve that as best as possible,” she said.
The charity is one the largest providers of homeless services in the State, with an income last year of about €60 million, the majority of which comes from State funding.
