The Irish Independent can also reveal the charity’s board rejected a proposal by its chief executive Francis Doherty last week to appoint well-known businessman David Hall and two other people to the board as part of efforts to resolve significant financial and governance issues at the Peter McVerry Trust (PMVT).
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has been told by Mr Doherty the high-profile charity is now in a “precarious position” – but it is unclear at this stage what level of financial assistance it will need from government funds.
Allegations of financial irregularities at the charity are being examined by inspectors from the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA), who were appointed on Tuesday.
PMVT confirmed yesterday that it “warehoused” three years of PAYE tax debts during Covid-19 for 2020, 2021, and 2022 as part of a Revenue pandemic scheme and is in a phased payment arrangement with the tax authority since September of last year.
The charity’s total tax liability is understood to have been as much €8m – a fraction of which has so far been repaid. It warehoused as much as €5m in PAYE debt during the pandemic.
Its cash position has also depleted by €4.15m since January, according to a draft report from accountancy firm PWC, which raises concerns about the charity’s solvency. PMVT got more than €38m in state funding in 2021, which accounted for most of its €53m in income that year.
Mr Hall confirmed yesterday that he was asked last week whether he would be willing to go on the board of PMVT but was later told by Mr Doherty that the board would not be appointing anyone at this time.
While declining to discuss any individuals who were proposed to be appointed, Fr McVerry, the founder of PMVT and a current board member, confirmed: “There was a suggestion, but the people that were recommended, we didn’t feel were the right people.”
He added: “The board was not inclined on the grounds that we need more financial expertise and at this point in time, it’s hard to ask somebody to come onto a board of an organisation that’s under investigation.”
Mr Hall has acted as a troubleshooter for a number of crisis-hit organisations in the past and was most recently the chair of Inner City Helping Homeless, which was liquidated in 2021 in the wake of controversy over sexual assault allegations against its late chief executive.
“I can confirm that I was asked if I would be willing to have my name put forward to go on the board of Peter McVerry Trust for a board meeting last Thursday,” Mr Hall said. “I confirmed I was and was later told by the CEO that the board weren’t appointing anyone at this time.”
Fr McVerry told the Irish Independent yesterday that PMVT typically expected to raise €6m through fundraising in the run-up to Christmas but acknowledged this could be affected by the growing financial scandal.
“We’ll have to wait and see – and I am emphasising in all honesty there is no fraud. It’s simply a cash-flow problem that will hopefully encourage people to donate a bit more,” he said.
Mr Doherty copied Darragh O’Brien on correspondence to the PMVT board last week in which he sought the board’s approval to create three additional positions to which Mr Hall, and two other named individuals would be appointed. One of these individuals, who asked not be named, told the Irish Independent that they had declined a tentative proposal to serve on the board.
Mr O’Brien’s spokesperson would confirm only that the letter had been submitted to an independent review into financial and governance matters being carried out by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, which provides state funding to PMVT.
The AHBRA confirmed on Tuesday that it had appointed inspectors to the PMVT, one of the most high-profile homelessness charities in the country, saying it had determined that a statutory investigation is required “having identified concerns in relation to the organisation”.
It said it was first notified “a number of financial and governance issues by PMVT through the notifiable events process in July”. In a statement, PMVT said it had been engaging with AHBRA since notifying it of “significant cash-flow issues” in July.
