Peter McVerry Trust appoints new interim CEO 

Danny McLoughlin

The Peter McVerry Trust has appointed former South Dublin County Council chief executive Danny McLoughlin as its interim CEO.

Mr McLoughlin's appointment comes two days after the resignation of the charity's former CEO, Francis Doherty.

Mr Doherty tendered his resignation on Wednesday — after just four months in charge — amid the backdrop of a probe into governance and finance-related matters at the housing charity.

Both the Charities Regulator and the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA) are currently investigating financial and governance issues at the trust.

Announcing its investigation last month, the AHBRA said it was important to note that “the commencement of a statutory investigation is not in itself a finding of any wrongdoing” at the trust itself.

The Charities Regulator said similar, saying this week that while it had determined, based on inquiries, "that a statutory investigation into the charity is warranted" its commencement was also not in itself a finding of any wrongdoing.

In a statement on Friday, the Peter McVerry Trust, one of the biggest providers of homeless services in the State, said that Mr McLoughlin had been appointed "to provide management services to Peter McVerry Trust, to include the functions of the CEO on an interim basis" with effect from Monday, October 16.

"Danny has over 30 years management and leadership experience in local government including 21 years as chief executive gaining a comprehensive understanding of public policy and the local service delivery landscape," a spokesperson for the trust's board said.

"He most recently served as chief executive of South Dublin County Council which has 16,000 homes under management. He has also been a member of numerous housing fora including chairperson of the Dublin housing supply coordination taskforce."

The spokesperson said his appointment would "bring great experience to Peter McVerry Trust at a time of unprecedented challenge."

"The Board looks forward to working with Danny, our Deputy CEO Liz Peña and our senior management team as we all strive to provide continuity of services to our participants who include the most marginalised in our society."