Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing, Eoin Ó Broin TD, has called on the Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien to publish the full details of the €15m rescue package for the Peter McVerry Trust agreed by cabinet last December.
The Dublin Mid-West TD’s comments were made in response to the publication of the Approved Housing Body Regulator’s report into financial mismanagement at the homeless charity.
Teachta Ó Broin said:
“The detail of the report of the Approved Housing Body Regulator into the Peter McVerry Trust is shocking. The Regulator has uncovered widespread financial mismanagement, failures of governance and conflicts of interest.
“The actions and inactions of senior members of the McVerry Trust’s executive and board almost brought the organisation to the point of collapse. The consequences for their service users would have been devastating.
“This is the second report into the crisis at the McVerry trust, the first being from the Charities Regulator.
“Throughout the course of 2024, the Oireachtas Housing Committee attempted to bring the McVerry Trust, the Department of Housing and the Dublin Regional Homeless executive before the committee to discuss the details of the €15m rescue package agreed by cabinet last December.
“Unfortunately, all three organisations refused to come to committee. Instead, they opted to hide behind the ongoing reports then being undertaken by the two regulators.
“Now that both of these reports have been published, the Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien must publish the full details of the multi-million euro rescue package, detailing what the public money was to be spent on and what Governance and personnel changes were required to secure this funding.
“It will also be incumbent on the incoming Oireachtas Housing Committee to prioritise a public hearing with the McVerry Trust, Department of Housing and the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive at the earliest possible opportunity, to establish how this crisis was allowed to happen and what is being done to ensure it never happens again.”
