Inspectors appointed to Peter McVerry Trust after cashflow issues

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

The Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA) has appointed inspectors to the Peter McVerry Trust housing charity, following “cashflow pressures” in the organisation.

Peter McVerry Trust wrote to AHBRA in July this year to notify it of significant cashflow issues and has been engaging with AHBRA since then.

A spokeswoman for the charity said: “We can confirm that we received notice this afternoon of a decision by AHBRA to appoint inspectors to the charity.

“This is an important part of transparency and accountability for our organisation, and we will work with the inspectors and AHBRA in the best interest of the over 2,000 service users and tenants as well as the staff that support them.”

Peter McVerry Trust statement on the appointment of inspectors by AHBRA. pic.twitter.com/gM4hW0AqDa

— Peter McVerry Trust (@PMVTrust) September 26, 2023

Earlier this year, Peter McVerry Trust said it was experiencing cashflow pressures that are “more acute than would traditionally be the case”, even allowing for the summer period.

The charity informed the Department of Housing and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) about its financial difficulties in accordance with its obligations.

In a statement at the time, the trust’s CEO Francis Doherty said: “It is very clear that the organisation has obligations to regulators and statutory funders to disclose challenges such as these when they arise and the organisation has done so proactively and transparently.

“As the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the DRHE are our largest sources of funding we are working most closely with them.

“Since first notifying the Department and the DRHE, our cashflow pressures have begun to lessen and we have a clear line of sight on a time bound resolution of them.”

The Department of Housing, which does not fund any homeless service directly, provides funding to local authorities towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services.