Peter McVerry Trust bought several apartments developed by its own auditor

The Peter McVerry Trust bought nine apartments in Birr, Co Offaly, that were developed by the former longtime auditor of the homelessness charity, with the sale taking place while his firm was auditing the charity’s accounts.

The charity bought several apartments that had been developed on a site off Main Street, Birr, by Donal Ryan, planning records show.

At the time of the sale, his accountancy firm, Donal Ryan & Associates, had been auditing the charity’s accounts for more than a decade.

The group of apartments in the small residential development called The Heritage were bought by the trust in 2018 for homeless accommodation.

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Donal Ryan & Associates, which is based on Manor Street, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7, was listed as the auditor of the charity from 2006 until May last year, annual financial filings show.

A spokeswoman for Offaly County Council confirmed planning permission for The Heritage apartments development in Birr was secured in a retention application that records show was submitted by Mr Ryan.

[ Peter McVerry Trust ‘just about’ meets threshold for further pause to sale completion order, judge finds ]

The property was sold for at least €945,000 in late 2018, according to an entry on a register that records residential property sales.

In a statement, the Peter McVerry Trust confirmed it had purchased nine units at The Heritage in Birr in 2018 to use as emergency accommodation.

“Tenants for the units were nominated by Offaly County Council and are managed by Peter McVerry Trust,” it said.

A spokesman for the charity said it could not disclose who it bought the property from due to “data protection” concerns.

The trust did not respond to a series of questions about whether the property deal involving Mr Ryan raised potential conflict-of-interest concerns. Mr Ryan also did not respond to repeated questions about the sale.

Francis Doherty, who took over as chief executive of the trust in June, resigned from the role in October, claiming the charity’s board had made his position untenable.

In a resignation letter, Mr Doherty said he had become aware of a “substantial amount of concerning information” about issues predating his appointment, which included a “potential conflict of interest” relating to the charity’s auditors.

The letter, seen by The Irish Times, did not outline the details of the alleged conflict of interest.

The Peter McVerry Trust has been under major financial strain, with a shortage of income and significant debts bringing it to the brink of collapse in recent months.

The Charities Regulator and the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority, which regulates non-profit housing bodies, are conducting parallel statutory investigations into financial and governance issues at the charity.

[ Emergency funding for Peter McVerry Trust would come with conditions - Darragh O’Brien ]

In recent weeks the charity has sought a bailout of more than €5 million in emergency funding from the State to help it survive.

Officials from the Department of Housing and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE), the charity’s biggest funder, are currently considering the request, as well as what conditions would be attached to any emergency funding.

The Co Offaly apartments bought by the trust in 2018 back on to three buildings that land registry records show are owned by Malbel Heritage Ltd, a company owned by Mr Ryan.

A property on Manor Street, Dublin 7, listed as Mr Ryan’s address on planning paperwork, is owned by another one of his companies, Malson Holdings Ltd, records show.

The address is two doors down from the offices of Donal Ryan & Associates, which is also the registered address of both Malbel Heritage Ltd and Malson Holdings Ltd.