The Peter McVerry Trust (PMVT) is transferring dozens of apartments and houses, worth almost €8 million, to Dublin City Council, under a deal to repay special Government funding that kept the charity afloat when it was struck by financial crisis.
The properties, some of which already have residents living in them, will be used for social housing.
The housing and homeless body established by Jesuit priest Fr Peter McVerry received €15 million from the State after then housing minister Darragh O’Brien agreed in November 2023 to provide emergency financial support.
A succession of reports by charity and housing regulators and the Comptroller and Auditor General later highlighted multiple governance failings in the PMVT.
The trust has pledged to restore public confidence in it. Delayed financial accounts for 2023 are scheduled to be filed next month, after aspects of its 2022 accounts are restated for a second time.
The trust received €164.3 million in funding from the State between 2018 and 2022 and €72.6 million in donations. Trust properties used for its housing and homeless services were valued at €162.33 million at the end of 2022.
The rescue package was agreed on the basis that the Government would recover the value of the €15 million with the transfer of “unencumbered” properties to local authorities from the PMVT.
Unencumbered property generally means real estate free of debt. The PMVT agreement, however, specified that unencumbered property was real estate the charity acquired without State money, using its own funds.
In reply to questions, the Department of Housing said: “PMVT own 54 such properties and 27 of these properties, with a total value €7,890,000, are in the process of being transferred to Dublin City Council.”
The remaining 27 properties were being prepared for transfer to local authorities elsewhere, the department added. This preparation includes valuation and survey work.
“When all such properties are transferred from PMVT to the local authorities the State will have recovered the €15 million of emergency funding,” the department said.
The department, the PMVT and the council each declined to provide addresses for apartments and houses.
Still, the council said the first 27 properties were located across the Dublin city area. “For privacy reasons we do not give specific address identifiers but I can advise they are located in Dublin 3, 8, 12, 7, 11,” according to a spokesperson.
PMVT said it was working closely with the department to identify and transfer unencumbered assets “including housing units and vacant properties” to the appropriate local authorities.
“The 27 properties that are currently in the middle of the transfer process are a mixture of residential apartments and houses across the Dublin region,” the trust said.