Latest on McVerry Trust, Inquiry???

The Peter McVerry Trust (often referred to as McVerry Trust or PMVT), Ireland’s largest homelessness and housing charity founded by Fr Peter McVerry in the 1980s, continues to face significant ongoing scrutiny, financial challenges, and investigations as of early 2026.The charity provides essential services including Housing First programs, emergency accommodation, drug treatment, and support for thousands of vulnerable people across Ireland. However, it has been embroiled in a series of controversies since a near-collapse in 2023 that required a €15 million government bailout.Most Recent Developments (as of January 2026)The latest major revelation came on January 11, 2026, with an investigative report highlighting that the trust made undeclared payments over a decade to a firm owned by its external auditor, Donal Ryan (Donal Ryan & Associates). This included payments to Electronic Commerce Training Consultancy (ECTC), which was later transferred to the auditor’s sister. No conflict of interest was declared during audits from 2006 to 2021. This adds to earlier concerns about governance and financial transparency.This story has sparked fresh discussion on social media, with users calling for greater accountability in the NGO sector and questioning the charity’s operations under past leadership.Ongoing Garda InvestigationA criminal investigation by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (formerly the fraud bureau) remains active:

• It began in September 2025 after months of evaluation.
• In mid-December 2025 (specifically December 12), gardaí conducted searches at five properties across Dublin, Kildare, and Tipperary, seizing items of “evidential value.”
• The Corporate Enforcement Authority is also involved.
• The trust has confirmed recent direct contact from gardaí.

Other Key Issues from Late 2025

• Reports of wasteful spending, such as €350,000 on a driveway, lift shaft, and peacock enclosure at Kerdiffstown House (a shelter in Co Kildare) under former CEO Pat Doyle.
• €172,000 spent renting a derelict, uninhabitable property in Limerick for over five years.
• Fundraising has collapsed dramatically (from €15 million in 2022 to ~€2 million in 2025, with projections as low as €500,000 for 2026).
• The trust is transferring properties (valued to repay the bailout) to local authorities and the state, as part of bailout conditions. This includes ongoing talks and asset reviews expected to continue into 2026.
• 2023 accounts (published late in 2025 after delays) showed a €23 million property write-down and other accounting issues.

The current chairperson (former HSE chief Tony O’Brien, appointed in 2025) has described past operations as “rife with conflicts of interest” and emphasized governance reforms. The charity continues to deliver services and recruit staff (e.g., recent job postings for its Assets & Facilities team), but public trust and donations have been severely impacted. This situation has broader implications for Ireland’s reliance on NGOs for homelessness services, with calls for stronger oversight of the sector. For the official perspective, check the Peter McVerry Trust website (pmvtrust.ie), though recent media coverage has dominated the narrative. The saga is still unfolding, with potential further developments from the Garda probe.