Rubycon Developments issued legal proceedings against the Trust on Friday, according to court records.
Rubycon is understood to look after the maintenance and upkeep of around 600 properties owned by the charity. The reason for the litigation is unclear.
The Peter McVerry Trust declined to comment.
Attempts to contact Rubycon Developments’ solicitors were unsuccessful.
An investigation into the Trust by the Charities Regulator published last month reported that trade creditors were owed €7.2m at one point last year.
An investigation by RTÉ’s Prime Time reported that the company is owned by a brother of the McVerry Trust’s external auditor Donal Ryan.
The Peter McVerry Trust is the State’s largest charity provider of emergency accommodation for homeless people. Fr Peter McVerry has not been involved in the running of the charity for many years.
The charity recently ran into financial difficulties as its portfolio expanded to more than 600 properties. It was on the brink of collapse when it received a €15m government bailout last year.
Inspectors were appointed by the Charities Regulator to report on the Trust because of concerns raised about governance and oversight of the charity.
The inspectors report, published last month, highlighted a litany of serious governance issues.
The report found numerous transactions relating to property purchases, transfers of funds, and loans were carried out without the knowledge of the board.
Their report disclosed how funds donated to the charity for specific purposes were used to pay creditors.
The Capuchin Day Centre, which provides meals and shelter for homeless people, gave €4.3m to the McVerry Trust to purchase five properties. The inspectors report — which does not name the day centre — said the funds were “instead used... to make payments, mainly to creditors”.The report found numerous instances of “inappropriate transfers and co-mingling of funds” and the “unauthorised use” of restricted funds. “This demonstrates a lack of financial oversight and consideration of donor intentions by the Board,” the report said.
Around €1.5m was transferred from a sinking fund to a McVerry Trust bank account.
Payments were subsequently made from this account to Revenue of more than €1.25m and €150,000 to a contractor, the report found.
According to the report, the trust purchased nine properties from the charity’s auditor in 2018 for €945,000. The inspectors found the transaction to be a conflict of interest, which the auditor denied.
It found that a number of service providers were “not procured through a competitive tendering process”.