Liberty Recycling: Fine Gael asks PAC chair to summon Charities Regulator and others

Fine Gael members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) want the State’s Charities Regulator and the Department of Social Protection called before it to answer questions about Liberty Recycling.

They have approached the committee’s chair, Sinn Féin TD John Brady, with concerns over the fact the charity received public funding and was under the watch of the regulator.

Gardaí carried out a series of raids on premises used by the recycling and training charity last week as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering.

The High Court subsequently appointed provisional liquidators to it, leaving the future of its 100 trainees and staff in doubt.

The charity, which has a network of sorting depots and shops around the country, is chaired by Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh, but there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by him and he is not personally subject to investigation.

[ More than 100 staff laid off at Liberty Recycling as gardaí examine links to AfricaOpens in new window ]

The approach to the PAC chair was made by Fine Gael TD James Geoghegan, who sits on the committee.

Geoghegan is understood to have raised concerns about the fact the charity received more than €2 million in funding from the Department of Social Protection in recent years.

How the use of that money was audited by the department is likely to be a key question in any PAC hearing.

Fine Gael members are also believed to be concerned about the effectiveness of the Charities Regulator.

[ Liberty Recycling: Frozen bank accounts, suspicious transactions and seized luxury goodsOpens in new window ]

It is understood they have expressed frustration that failures in oversight identified when the committee held hearings on serious financial mismanagement at the Peter McVerry Trust last year have apparently not been adequately addressed.

Brady has also been told the members would propose asking Ó Snodaigh and Liberty chief executive Philip Moloney to attend the committee once it does not interfere with the Garda investigation.

The request is expected to be discussed in private when the committee next meets on November 5th before the members hold a public discussion on a Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on the school transport scheme.