The Department of Justice is to stop leasing accommodation for Ukrainian refugees from a company caught up in controversy over forged Garda vetting clearances of staff working with vulnerable children.
On Friday The Irish Times revealed a Co Meath company running emergency accommodation for children in care was found to have supplied fake Garda vetting clearances to Tusla, the child and family agency.
The company, Good People Homecare, provided Tusla with forged criminal background checks, falsely clearing some unvetted workers to look after children in State care.
Problems with Garda vetting paperwork supplied by the private care company were discovered by Tusla in late 2023, which severed ties with Good People afterwards.
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The company is run by a businessman and evangelical pastor, Gerard Chimbganda, who is originally from Zimbabwe. A former employee of Good People was convicted of forgery and falsifying Garda vetting paperwork in Trim Circuit Court earlier this year.
Another company run by Mr Chimbganda, Minana International, which also trades as Good People and shares the same directors, owners and address, has separately been paid more than €1 million by the State to provide housing to Ukrainian refugees since late 2022.
Following queries from The Irish Times about falsified Garda vetting supplied to Tusla, the Department of Justice has moved to cut off the company.
A department spokeswoman said a “contract termination notice” is being issued to the company this week. The firm’s contract to house Ukrainian women and children in a 15-bed property in Co Wicklow was up for renewal next month.
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The Department of Children, which at the time was responsible for Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers, was briefed by Tusla about the falsified vetting in April 2024, internal documents show.
However, Minana International went on to win a further State contract worth €6 million to undertake “vulnerability assessments” of asylum seekers.
The Department of Justice, which has since taken over asylum policy, said that contract was signed last September after a public competition.
“The evaluation committee was not aware of any allegations of fraud or noncompliance with relevant legislation by Good People when the recommendation to award the [contract] was made,” a spokeswoman said.
The company had assured officials that all necessary staff were vetted, she said.
“The department reviews policies and practices relating to the management of commercial contracts on an ongoing basis, taking into account all relevant legislation and policy,” she said.
Mr Chimbganda said the forgery of vetting clearances was carried out by a “former junior employee, who acted entirely alone” without the knowledge of management.
All current Good People care staff held valid Garda vetting, he said. “No director or member of senior management engaged in any wrongdoing,” he said.
Figures show Tusla paid Good People €8.1 million to manage emergency housing for children in care in 2022-2024. This involved looking after young people in rented houses or apartments with care staff from the company on site 24/7.
Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, said the controversy showed Tusla needed to take a “fresh look” at the care system and how the State could plan ahead better. “When you take a step back, the big issue is we don’t have enough places for the numbers of children that need to be taken into care,” she said.
Good People also provides home care services to older people in Co Meath for the Health Service Executive (HSE).
A spokeswoman for the HSE Dublin and North East said it had been assured the company complied with strict governance standards, including Garda vetting.
Minana International has bid for several national HSE contracts over recent years to provide agency staff and home care packages but did not win any of them, the HSE said.
