AN OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE may compel the Peter McVerry Trust to come before it after multiple invitations were declined.
At a session of the Oireachtas Housing Committee today, TDs and senators addressed the charity’s refusal to come before it after the charity informed the Department of Housing of “potential financial issues” last year.
The Charities Regulatory Authority and the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority have both appointed investigators to conduct investigations into reported financial and governance issues.
Before the Housing Committee discussed the item on its official agenda for today’s meeting, chairperson Steven Matthews of the Green Party opened a discussion about an invitation to the Peter McVerry Trust, saying that committee members had raised the matter ahead of the meeting.
Matthews outlined that the committee sent an invitation to the charity, along with the Department of Housing and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE), “quite some time ago” because it wanted to explore some of the work the charity had done, the “funding allocation that had been given over to the Trust after the recent difficulties”, and the “impact of the current issues on their current clients and service users”.
“Unfortunately, the Peter McVerry Trust wrote back to the committee declining the invitation and citing that they felt it would be inappropriate to attend, depending on the outcome of two investigations – one by the charities regulator and one by the approved housing bodies regulator,” Matthews said.
He said the committee wrote back to the charity that it understood its position but reissued the invitation, saying that members wished to proceed with the meeting notwithstanding the charity’s concerns.
“I think this committee always conducts itself in a very reasonable way and I think all the members always conduct themselves reasonably and know what’s okay to ask about and what is not okay to ask about, so I don’t see any concern there at all,” the chair said.
“We also then received a response from the Department and from the DRHE. Both outlined – in very similar language, actually, to the Peter McVerry Trust – that they felt it was inappropriate to attend at this time.”
He said the committee subsequently wrote back to the three organisations outlining the purpose of the meeting and that members were insistent on the meeting going ahead.
The committee reminded the bodies of “under standing orders, the powers that exist for this committee for compellability of witnesses to appear.
“It’s not a straightforward procedure, but it’s a procedure that we’re willing to invoke, if necessary.”
The committee has again issued the invitation to the three bodies.
Addressing the members of the committee, Matthews said he believed they were in agreement that the meeting should proceed and asked members for any comments on the matter.
There was widespread disappointment among the TDs and Senators over the three bodies’ refusal to come before the committee.
Fine Gael Senator John Cummins said that the Peter McVerry Trust had written to the committee previously saying it wished to have been invited to meetings discussing homelessness but that it is “not willing now to come before the committee when they’re experiencing difficulties”.
Fellow Fine Gael member, TD Emer Higgins, said it would be “regretful if we were to get to a situation where we have to oblige or to compel” bodies to come before the committee, adding that she hoped that could be avoided and that there would be “meaningful engagement and collaboration”.
Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Bróin said the refusals are “preventing us from doing our job”.
He commended the services that the charity provides but said it is now “entirely appropriate for the McVerry Trust” and the other two bodies to come before the committee to discuss information that is already in the public domain.
Senator Mary Fitzpatrick of Fianna Fáil expressed “huge and deep disappointment” that the three bodies “declined our very constructive invitation”.
“This is a forum where they would have had an opportunity to explain to the general public what has gone on, and most importantly, to reassure the general public as to their path forward,” she said.
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