A Georgian hotel in central Dublin earmarked for homeless services has lain dormant for more than three years after the Peter McVerry Trust (PMVT) acquired it for €6.24 million with public money.
The fate of the former Latchford’s hotel on Baggot Street remains uncertain after prolonged PMVT turmoil over lax governance and financial controls.
Ireland’s largest housing and homeless charity struck a deal with the Government in 2023 for a €15 million bailout, but it is still struggling to overcome the legacy of its crisis.
In April, former HSE chief Tony O’Brien became chairman of the body established by Jesuit priest Fr Peter McVerry. Fr McVerry will leave the board in June, after 41 years.
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Monitoring experts from housing regulators remain in place in the PMVT, whose 2023 financial statement is long overdue but likely to be published next month.
DCC and PMVT are in discussions about a number of its capital assets that it is not in a position currently to advance
Latchford’s is in two adjoining four-storey buildings opposite the headquarters of the Department of Health, in the core business district of the city.
The redbrick building is a protected structure, with any structural change subject to special controls. Owners are required to prevent such buildings from becoming endangered.
Latchford’s was put up for sale in February 2021 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic with a €5 million price tag.
The next year, Dublin City Council (DCC) provided €6.24 million in capital assistance scheme (CAS) funding to the PMVT to buy the hotel.
Such funding is a form of mortgage loan issued via local authorities to housing bodies such as PMVT.
DCC retains a legal charge over the property, meaning the trust is not free to deal with or dispose of it without council consent. “DCC and PMVT are in discussions about a number of its capital assets that it is not in a position currently to advance,” DCC said.
The trust aimed to use Latchford’s for temporary homeless accommodation, but faced planning difficulties.
Ireland’s largest housing and homeless charity struck a deal with the Government in 2023 for a €15 million bailout, but it is still struggling to overcome the legacy of its crisis
In 2021, DCC planners told PMVT that continued hotel use was exempt from the need to seek planning permission. Two years later, however, planners said permission was needed to use residential units as short-term lets.
Asked whether DCC consulted its planners before funding PMVT’s purchase of the property, the council said it did: “The advice was sufficient to support the CAS acquisition by PMVT.”
Citing “financial constraints”, PMVT said it was unable to proceed with its plans. “As a result, the property has remained vacant while alternative solutions are being explored,” it said.
“Some work was undertaken on Latchford’s Townhouse and Boutique Hotel to make it safe, but no major renovation was undertaken.”
John Kinsella, a security equipment supplier, said his company Accura worked on the hotel site for two months on computer networks, electric gates, access control and CCTV.
Accura was still owed about €35,000 for such work, Mr Kinsella said, adding that €215,000 was due for separate work for PMVT and subcontractors. “For a small business, this is devastating,” he said.
The redbrick building is a protected structure, with any structural change subject to special controls
Solicitors for a PMVT subcontractor, which has initiated legal action against the trust, did not answer questions.
Mr Kinsella said new fridges and satellite TV sets were installed in Latchford bedrooms before work stopped. “At this point, three years on the warranties would have expired on all that equipment,” he said.
There was no PMVT response to comments from Mr Kinsella. He has raised concerns with the Dáil public accounts committee and the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA), which oversees the trust.
Asked about the delayed financial statement, the AHBRA said it “awaits the finalisation of PMVT annual accounts for 2023, which are a critical foundation from which the organisation can demonstrate its commitment to regulatory compliance”.
