Housing Agency board backs chief in controversy over sale of house to McVerry Trust

The board of the Housing Agency has fully backed its chief executive Bob Jordan who has faced criticism over revelations that he sold an investment property to the Peter McVerry Trust while in a previous role at Dublin City Council.

The board of the Housing Agency said on Friday that it had reviewed the transaction and “concluded that no further action is required”.

Board chairman Michael Carey said the board was entirely satisfied that Mr Jordan “acted at that time in good faith, pursuing the transaction as the best available alternative route to provide a secure housing solution for a vulnerable person at risk of homelessness”.

“The transaction was completed at market value (at a personal financial loss), with the full knowledge and support of his manager at his then employer Dublin City Council, and led successfully to the desired outcome for the tenant.”

RTÉ reported on Thursday that in 2020, when Mr Jordan sold his property to the McVerry Trust, he was employed by Dublin City Council as a senior manager at the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE). It said this organisation was the largest funder of the McVerry Trust.

It said the DRHE provided more than €16 million in funding to the McVerry Trust in 2020.

RTÉ quoted corporate governance expert Jillian van Turnhout as saying the transaction raised conflict of interest concerns.

Mr Carey said in a statement on Friday: “Bob is a highly regarded and respected public servant who has fulfilled his role as CEO at the Agency with the highest integrity and commitment. The Housing Agency is sorry to see him moving on from this role and we are currently undertaking a recruitment process to identify a successor of similar calibre and integrity.”

In a personal statement on Thursday Mr Jordan said he had sold a four-bedroom house in Kildare town to the Peter McVerry Trust in December 2020 for €250,000 which was the open market value at that time.

“In 2019, I had agreed with Kildare County Council to offer the property to a person and family who qualified under the Homeless Hap scheme. This person moved into the property in September 2019, and I registered the tenancy with the Residential Tenancies Board.”

“Kildare County Council informed me in November 2019 that they had become aware the person and family were not in fact entitled to a family Homeless HAP payment, resulting in the council discontinuing the payment after the initial two-month rent payment.”

Mr Jordan said he had worked very closely with Kildare County Council “in the hope that the situation would be rectified and the necessary support given to a vulnerable person and family, especially after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic”.

He said no rent payments were made to me during the full year of 2020.

“During 2020, I approached the Peter McVerry Trust to see if they could offer the tenant professional support. After supporting the tenant for a period of time, the trust asked if I would consider selling the property to them, so that they could provide the necessary longer-term support that the tenant needed. I sold the property to them at a significant personal financial loss.”

“For the avoidance of doubt, the code of conduct provided by the Local Government Act 2001 does not and is not intended to apply to this situation, as I was the national director of Housing First based in Dublin City Council. Mindful of the code’s provisions, however, I did indeed advise Dublin City Council management in advance of the disposal of my interest in the property, which was not in any event located in the functional area of Dublin City Council.”