Former local authority official to take over as interim head of Peter McVerry Trust

The former head of South Dublin County Council has been drafted in as interim chief executive of the Peter McVerry Trust as the homelessness charity grapples with a financial and governance crisis.

Danny McLoughlin’s appointment was announced on Friday. Francis Doherty resigned from the role earlier this week following a breakdown in trust with the charity’s board. Mr Doherty, who had been chief executive of the trust since this June, claimed the charity’s board had made his position “untenable”.

In his resignation letter to board chair Deirdre-Ann Barr, he raised concerns about the “potential mismanagement” of donations at the homelessness charity, as well as “repeated and long-standing governance failings”.

The charity has been struggling with serious cash flow issues and significant debts for several months, compounded by parallel investigations by the Charities Regulator and the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA). These will examine governance and financial issues at the trust.

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The board of the charity on Friday announced that Mr McLoughlin would take over as interim chief executive from the start of next week. He retired as chief executive of South Dublin County Council earlier this year.

In a statement, the board said Mr McLoughlin had “over 30 years management and leadership experience in local government, including 21 years as chief executive”.

The board said he had been heavily involved in housing policy, previously serving as chair of a Dublin housing supply co-ordination taskforce. “Danny will bring great experience to Peter McVerry Trust at a time of unprecedented challenge,” it said.

In his resignation letter, Mr Doherty revealed the charity currently owes €6.9 million to trade creditors, and in July had been on the brink of “imminent” financial collapse.

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”.

Speaking on Thursday, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said his officials were keeping a “very close eye” on the unfolding controversy facing the charity.

Following increasing concern, AHBRA last month appointed inspectors to conduct a full investigation into the charity, with the Charities Regulator following suit on Thursday. Both regulators had been engaging with the charity since July, when they were notified along with the Department of Housing, of serious cash flow problems the trust was facing.