Fr Peter McVerry stepped down from his post as board secretary of Ireland’s largest housing charity last week, the Irish Times reports.
The Irish priest established the housing and homeless charity, Peter McVerry Trust, in 1983 and had held his position as board secretary since then.
However, it is understood he remains a member of the board.
His resignation last Friday comes after turmoil in the charity over a €15 million State bailout and governance failings.
Also on Friday, the board chairwoman Deirdre-Ann Barr stepped down from her post, with no successor in place.
A solicitor became the chairwoman in May 2022, the year before the financial issues at the Peter McVerry Trust went public.
The charity said it was engaging with recruitment website Boardmatch “to assist recruitment of a new chairperson and additional directors positions that will become available in 2025”.
The departures of Fr McVerry and Ms Barr nearly coincide with the end of terms of three directors in the charity last December – Richard Lavelle, Terry McCabe and Denis O’Leary.
The Jesuit priest previously thanked the departing directors for their “dedication, support and hard work during their tenures on the board”.
It comes as former Grant Thornton audit partner and head of risk Aidan Connaughton joined the charity’s board in November.
Meanwhile, two new board members were appointed on Monday – Kathleen McCabe and Nessan Vaughan.
Ms McCabe has worked in urban and community regeneration and Mr Vaughan in public service.
In November 2023, the Cabinet signed off on a €15 million emergency funding package “on an exceptional basis” for the stricken charity.
Crisis-hit housing charity was to get nearly €4 million a month in a taxpayer-funded bailout over five months in order to continue providing housing and homelessness services.
It was paid on a phased monthly basis and was “conditional on the implementation of significant reform”.