The Peter McVerry Trust splashed €300,000 on resurfacing a driveway at a period property it owned, and spent funds on an enclosure for two peacocks it kept at the same Co Kildare property.
The spending was described by Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe as “exceptional”.
“Of all the improvements, the one I was least expecting was a peacock enclosure” at the house, said Mr McAuliffe.
The controversy-hit homeless charity’s new CEO Tony O’Brien appeared before the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday, disclosing how the charity was historically “rife with conflicts of interests.”
The charity’s former CEO Francis Doherty was also before the committee. He said that upon taking over the role of CEO in June 2023, he learned that the charity’s trade creditors were owed more than €9.6 million, €6 million was owed to Revenue, while a further €2 million was owed to banks.
Mr Doherty admitted that the spending on the peacock enclosure for two birds and the driveway ” became a symbol of what was going wrong, a loss of control.” He said he became aware of the spending on the peacock enclosure “for two peacocks” when “myself and a deputy came into the office and got access” to financial details.
“Why in God’s name would anyone donate money” to the homeless charity “for a peacock enclosure?” Mr McAuliffe asked, with Mr Doherty replying: “Absolutely. It’s indefensible that anybody would think it was appropriate.”
The PMVT eventually needed a €15 million bailout from the State. Mr Doherty succeeded Pat Doyle as CEO in 2023, before handing in his resignation four months later as the scale of the approved housing body’s financial woes became clear. He said details regarding Kerdiffstown, which had an annual budget of €1m, only became apparent when he gained access to invoices as CEO in June 2023.
Mr Doherty said that the layers between himself and senior management were “several.” He said that the organisation had had a “very limited press profile,” and that he had been surprised when the former CEO stepped down. He said he anticipated that the then-deputy CEO would automatically take over the role.
Mr Doyle had been at the organisation for almost 19 years. The PMVT has over thousand properties and an annual budget of more €60 million and 700 staff to provide homeless and addiction services, as well as services for those seeking asylum in Ireland and former prisoners.
Mr Doherty said that he thought there were cash flow pressures, but that he had been assured that the PMVT was in good financial health. He spoke about finding out that an account which was supposed to have €4 million in it was empty, and how his initial effort was to try and find out where the cash had gone and to recover it.
“Ultimately, €350,000 was recovered,” he said.
Mr Doherty said he found out that the charity owed €18m to various creditors and had just €437,000 in its various bank accounts. He added that a conflict of interest existed as the auditor of the PMVT, who had been in the role for 17 years, was the brother of the owner of Rubycon, which became the charity’s main maintenance contractor.
The Dáil committee heard that people across the country had to bail out the PMVT due to a lack of ongoing monitoring. There were also questions of why internal inspectors involved with the charity were not present at the committee.
“There’s been a €15m bailout from the Irish people from the Peter McVerry Trust […] how do we know in six months time that we won’t have to bail them out again?” said Labour TD Eoghan Kenny.
Mr O’Brien, chairperson of the PMVT, said that a section 19 disclosure under the Criminal Justice Act had been made to An Garda Síochána regarding an “invoicing matter” in relation to Assisi House, a charity the trust had taken over.
The committee heard that An Garda Síochána approached the charity for the accounts, and that this was how they were handed over.
“Am I correct in saying that the Gardai approached you for the reports?” staff members were asked. “Were you at any stage going to bring the reports to An Garda Síochána or were you waiting for them?”
Charities Regulator Madeleine Delaney, in her opening statement, said that she is continuing to follow up with the charity. She said the inspectors’ report published last October revealed a failure to adhere to donor intention in how restricted funds were spent.