Peter McVerry Trust seeks several million euro in emergency State funding

The Peter McVerry Trust has sought several million euro in emergency funding from the State, as it battles a financial crisis that has threatened the survival of the homelessness charity.

The charity, which is one of the biggest providers of homeless accommodation in the country, wrote to the Department of Housing in recent days seeking a significant bailout, sources said.

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

A department spokesman confirmed it had received correspondence from the charity last Friday.

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An oversight group of officials from the department and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE), set up in response to the crisis facing the charity, was considering the correspondence, he said.

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It is understood officials have met this week to discuss the request for emergency funding from the charity.

Neither the department, the DRHE, or the Peter McVerry Trust would confirm exactly how much the charity had requested in emergency funding.

The trust is facing trade creditor liabilities of more than €6 million, as well as a large €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 were paid.

A spokeswoman for the charity said senior management would not be commenting on the request made for additional State funding.

The charity previously secured advances in its funding from the department and DRHE in early July, in order to pay staff and make Revenue payments.

It has since sold a large property used for homeless accommodation in Santry, north Dublin, for €1 million, with plans to bring in a further €5.87 million by selling more properties.

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.

Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien has previously said the crucial services provided by the charity would be protected during the current turmoil.

Francis Doherty, who took over as chief executive in June but resigned earlier this month, said the charity had been facing “imminent financial collapse” by July.

In his resignation letter he said the trust had “insufficient funds to meet creditor, payroll and Revenue commitments” when he took over.

Mr Doherty stated he was resigning as tensions between senior management and the charity’s board during the financial crisis had made his position “untenable”.

Daniel McLoughlin, former head of South Dublin County Council, was brought in as interim chief executive of the charity at the start of last week.

Separate to the financial crisis, the charity 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 investigations into financial and governance problems in the trust.