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Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Peter McVerry Trust to receive €4 million this week in first tranche of emergency Govt funding

It was confirmed on Tuesday that the Government is to provide up to €15 million in funding to the charity.

THE PETER MCVERRY Trust will receive approximately €4 million in the first tranche of emergency funding from the Government to ensure the organisation can continue to provide its services, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien has confirmed. 

It was confirmed on Tuesday that the Government is to provide up to €15 million in funding to the charity. 

It comes after the housing charity found itself in significant financial difficulties this autumn.

The funding is being provided on the condition of significant reform within the charity.

The Peter McVerry Trust has given a commitment that improved management and budgetary processes are being put in place. 

The funding, which was secured by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien on an exceptional basis, will be provided monthly between December and March.

Speaking to reporters today, O’Brien said the first phase of that payment will be made, later this week the Minister said.

He confirmed the first tranche of funding is approximately €4 million. 

“My priority is the service users, is the hundreds of people who are assisted by the Peter McVerry Trust every single day,” 

The Minister said the Government has “full oversight” of what is happening at the charity. 

“There’s investigations in place … there will be reorganisation and restructuring,” he said. 

“Those payments are made on behalf of the taxpayer to support the services, so there are conditions attached, which at this stage I can’t go through because I am writing to the Trust today outlining that.” 

When asked if there needs to be any change at board level, McGrath said: “We’re not at that stage yet. We’ve a full review underway and we have external consultants in the Peter McVery Trust at the moment.” 

The Peter McVerry Trust is due to provide a detailed plan for the future by February next year, a Government spokeswoman said earlier this week. 

In August, the charity said it was experiencing cashflow pressures that were “more acute than would traditionally be the case”, even allowing for the summer period.

In October, its chief executive Francis Doherty resigned amid the controversy.

Doherty had been the chief executive of the charity since June 2023, taking over from Pat Doyle, who was at the organisation for almost 19 years.

Inspectors were appointed by the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority to the Peter McVerry Trust and the charity was engaging with them.

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

With reporting by Jane Matthews and Press Association

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    Mute ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
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    Nov 30th 2023, 12:50 PM

    I sometimes wonder if these ‘charities’ aren’t part of the problem.

    Charity has become a business.
    And big business at that.

    That means they will want to prolong their activities, rather than work towards elimination.
    The existence of such charities also means the state has failed.

    318
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    Mute Thomas Hayes
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    Nov 30th 2023, 1:42 PM

    @ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: just look at he amount of money these NGO’s are receiving from the Taxpayer Billions no question’s asked.

    186
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    Mute Chris O'Brien
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    Nov 30th 2023, 2:18 PM

    @ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: Charities are a symptom of a systemic failure in a society.

    In our case the failure is ours, as voters. We vote tribally and ideologically. We vote for people who we recognise from our day to day, no matter their positions on issues. We vote for parties based on what our community, or family has done.

    This all need to change. We can’t expect our half-baked political class to think for us. They’re thinking for themselves. And acting for their benefit, not ours.

    We need better media, fewer social media provocateurs and most importantly we need a national strategy, as voters, to restore accountability to politics, and to every other facet of life.

    What we don’t is magical thinking eg personal responsibility will solve every problem.

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    Mute did you every wonder
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    Nov 30th 2023, 2:40 PM

    @ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: I know most charities have a good cause at heart, but my complaint is a charity never solved any issue, just treated the symptoms. We pay top taxes for our basic services, so why do we have to pay charities for the same services also. Our governments should manage issues like homelessness, etc, with our tax money. Something really wrong with our system. Charities should be a government department managed at this level not private enterprises.

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    Mute uUleRhCu
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    Nov 30th 2023, 3:32 PM

    @ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: Every single country in the world has all of the same charities….has every state failed?….or is there any personal responsibility?

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    Mute Sal Paradise
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    Nov 30th 2023, 7:11 PM

    @uUleRhCu: Charities like Peter McV Trust is just used as a form of outsourcing and this is the case in many countries. The government doesn’t need to worry about HR, pensions etc.

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    Mute Dale Voinz
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    Nov 30th 2023, 12:13 PM

    Recently left the service. Was in their hostels and treatment centers. Cash thrown everywhere no questions asked. Regular staff are sound but once you start moving up into management after a while you can see the corruption leaking out left right and center. Not very well ran in any sense and politically it’s the wild wild west. I’d avoid this service 110%

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    Mute Paul Ruschitzko
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    Nov 30th 2023, 12:37 PM

    More money going into a bottomless pit ,

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    Mute Dan Danny
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    Nov 30th 2023, 1:28 PM

    Met a priest at a wedding one time who worked in Africa for 23yrs and said never give to these charities. CEO’s from well known ‘charities’ would drive around in new 4×4 take a few pics for newspaper then go off again. Don’t do any off the hard yards. Best to give to a GoFundMe page, direct to the person

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    Mute S Badger
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    Nov 30th 2023, 1:09 PM

    Having worked in charities you see and experience first hand the minimal pay for the lower downs all doing the nitty gritty hard work. While the higher ups throw money around the place giving themselves pats on the back. They should not be receiving this money, just like RTE. IF they receive anything, they need to be under the microscope and changes at the top made asap to prevent any further misuse of funds. Is a bloody charity! Absolutely pathetic carry on and very disappointing it’s so wide spread in charities in this country.

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Nov 30th 2023, 1:21 PM

    Shouldn’t be getting a cent, I don’t trust charities, I prefer to give my money to the bookies

    119
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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Nov 30th 2023, 7:38 PM

    @Jimmy Wallace: you still having sleepless nights, worrying about other people, Jimmy?

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    Mute The Gate Florist
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    Nov 30th 2023, 2:46 PM

    Sorry but I have no trust in this organisation none what so ever….

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    Mute Jp Cleary
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    Nov 30th 2023, 6:00 PM

    When this story first broke the Journal published figures for the amount of money that this ‘charity ‘ had received from the Government ( taxpayers) over the past few years. The numbers were staggering and again it’s taxpayers money being given away without the taxpayers having any say in the matter. Same as the announcement this evening…. 95 million to the horse racing and greyhound industry’s.

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    Mute Jp Cleary
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    Nov 30th 2023, 6:01 PM

    @Jp Cleary: Surley an inquiry into this trust is called for.

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    Mute Chris O'Brien
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    Nov 30th 2023, 1:50 PM

    Just dumping money into unregulated – and often religious – charities, because who wants to be accountable. Right wing blame shifting and public private schenanigans which just cost us all extra money.

    I know we Irish find imagineing competence very, very difficult. But try a bit harder. Don’t be a bottomless pit of cynacism. Expect more from your leaders and vote them out when they fail to deliver on your expectations- even if they’re your neighbour’s cousin and their kid went to the same school as your sister.

    Right now our politics is ideological and tribal. And we ALL suffer as a result.

    Try and be rational. Not reactive. Try and think about what will make the country better in 10 years, not what will make you feel good for 10 mins.

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    Mute Paul
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    Nov 30th 2023, 3:22 PM

    SCAM SCAM SCAM

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    Mute Pat Redmond
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    Nov 30th 2023, 5:51 PM

    Why should a key service like social housing be run by a charity? After all, they are largely funded by the taxpayer anyway. Our superb well run libraries for example are not at the mercy of fund raising for but fully resourced by the state. Leave soft, non-essential, services to be run by charities and especially by wealthy, generous philanthropists.

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    Mute Ollie McGlinchey
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    Nov 30th 2023, 6:18 PM

    Benefiting from misery and a government that won’t address drug abuse, antisocial behaviour and mental illness.
    Anyone setting up camp in the city centre needs to be removed and helped.
    The same goes for beggars.

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    Mute Bilko
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    Dec 1st 2023, 1:23 PM

    Why? Maybe ask where the money is going? They are not providing the services that they claim to be, while also blocking other support agencies from supporting people in need,

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    Mute Neuville-Kepler62F
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    Dec 7th 2023, 4:39 PM

    Daft to have Charities involved in trying to solve the Housing Crisis …

    Better to spend this “tax” money on running a Referendum on Housing and solve it permanently for all.

    https://www.facebook.com/FamilyHomeReferendum/

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