Emergency funding for Peter McVerry Trust would come with conditions - Darragh O’Brien

Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien has said he has not yet made a decision on whether to grant emergency funding to the Peter McVerry Trust, but that any additional money would have to be provided with strict conditions.

The homelessness charity has in recent months been grappling with major financial and governance problems, with serious cash-flow issues and significant debts bringing it to the brink of collapse in recent months.

The trust, which is one of the biggest providers of homeless accommodation in the country, wrote to the Department of Housing last month seeking a significant bailout.

Speaking at the Fianna Fáil Ardfheis on Saturday, Mr O’Brien said his first priority regarding the trust is to make sure that the housing and emergency services it provides for thousands of people are maintained.

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“So that’s the absolute number one priority,” Mr O’Brien said.

The Minister said he had “received correspondence very recently with regard to a funding request”.

“I can’t go into the detail on that yet, but I will assess it and any additional funding will come with conditionality,” he said.

“We are working this through in a very deliberate way as people would expect. So I am reviewing that in the coming week or two.”

The trust is facing trade creditor liabilities of more than €6 million, as well as an €8.3 million Revenue bill, to repay PAYE tax debts warehoused during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A number of creditors have written to the charity seeking payments, while some companies have threatened to stop providing services unless outstanding bills are paid.

How one of Ireland’s biggest homelessness charities ran into trouble

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The charity reported €60 million in income last year, some €43 million of which came from public funding, with the vast majority of the remainder made up from donations.

It is also facing two parallel investigations from the Charities’ Regulator and the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority, a new non-profit housing body watchdog. Both regulators moved to appoint inspectors to conduct statutory inquiries into financial and governance problems in the trust.