Current Capuchin CEO told of McVerry Trust move to divert money

The current CEO of the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People was cc-ed on an email which resulted in the improper diversion by the Peter McVerry Trust of a €1.6m Capuchin donation, Prime Time has learned.

In September 2022, €1.6m was donated by the Capuchins to the Peter McVerry Trust to buy a property in north Dublin to house unaccompanied minors escaping war in Ukraine.

However, as previously reported by Prime Time, the property was not purchased. Instead, in October 2022 – within two weeks of signing a legal agreement between the Capuchins and McVerry Trust dictating how the donation was to be spent – the then-CEO of the McVerry Trust, Pat Doyle, instructed that the money be withdrawn and spent elsewhere.

This included spending €711,000 of the money on a payment to the Revenue Commissioners, and a further €500,000 to two creditors of the charity.

The instruction was emailed by Mr Doyle to the McVerry Trust’s then head of finance. He cc-ed Brian Friel, who was his deputy CEO.

Six months later, Mr Friel was appointed as chief executive of the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People, the organisation that donated the money to the McVerry Trust.

Prime Time asked Mr Friel if he had reported the diversion of the Capuchin donation by the McVerry Trust either to the Charities Regulator around the time of the October 2022 email, or to his current employer once he took up his CEO role.

He declined to comment on that query.

However, in apparent reference to ongoing investigations into the McVerry Trust by the Charities Regulator and the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority, Mr Friel said he has “cooperated fully with the statutory inquiry, which is where I believe all issues must be addressed and held accountable in the first instance. Until the inquiry has concluded its work it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

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Referring to the October 2022 email on which he was cc-ed, Mr Friel said “I cannot comment on your specific questions relating to an individual email from 2022 to which I do not have access and have not been shown.”

In response, Prime Time sent Mr Friel a copy of that 2022 email. In reply, Mr Friel said he would not comment further.

The €1.6m donation was one part of a larger €4.73m donation made by the Capuchins to the McVerry Trust in September 2022.

The donation was subject to a 25-page legal agreement stating that it was to be spent on specified properties in Dublin that would be used for social housing.

As Prime Time has previously reported, over 90% of the €4.73m was diverted for other uses by the McVerry Trust. None of the Capuchin money was used to buy any of the properties detailed in the agreement.

Under the terms of the legal agreement, the money was repayable to the Capuchins if it was not used for the intended purpose.

Prime Time asked the Capuchins if they have requested repayment of all or any of its €4.73m donation to the McVerry Trust, and if any of it has been repaid.

They declined to comment on that question, but they did state that “all such donations were made with specific conditions in respect of how they were to be used and responsibility for their use in line with these conditions lies with Peter McVerry Trust.”

The €4.73m was the third large donation of a series made by the Capuchins to the Peter McVerry Trust since 2018, adding to two earlier donations of €5m each.

The Capuchins told Prime Time that after Pope Francis visited its soup kitchen in 2018 the Capuchin Day Centre experienced a “surge in donations.”

Seeking to use the funds in line with its mission, the charity sought options “to support an established housing provider to provide social housing for homeless persons.” The Capuchins added that “this non-recurring initiative came to an end with the donation in 2022 and no further such initiatives are planned.”

Pat Doyle, who led the McVerry Trust from 2005 to 2023, did not respond to queries from Prime Time about the diversion of the Capuchin money, though he previously stated that he is cooperating with the regulators’ investigations.

The McVerry Trust has also declined to answer specific questions relating to governance at the charity. It told Prime Time it too is cooperating with the regulators’ investigations and that it has “implemented new organisational policies and procedures, and it remains focused on delivering its services within its resources.”