The jury in the Aer Lingus Holidays fraud trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has been sent away until Monday. The adjournment was requested by prosecuting counsel Mr Erwan Mill Arden SC, after legal argument in the absence of the jury over the last two days.

Judge Kieran O'Connor was told by Mr Mill Arden that arising from rulings made by the court following the legal argument, the prosecution needed time for consultation and to consider its situation.

Judge O'Connor apologised to the jury for the inconvenience caused to it by the further adjournment. He said there had been "quite complex" legal submissions made to him and the adjournment sought by the prosecution was inevitable in the light of the way things turned out due to his ruling.

He said witnesses had to come from Spain and the Isle of Man and that couldn't be arranged by the click of fingers. There had been quite an amount of agreement between both sides in the case about witnesses which saved a lot of time.

Yesterday was the 33rd day of the trial of Mr Peter Keely, of Carrig Avenue, Dun Laoghaire and Mr Desmond P. Flynn, of Tritonville Avenue, Sandymount, who are pleading not guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

Both men deny they conspired together and with Mr Peter Noone, on dates from March 1987 to November 1988, to defraud Aer Lingus Holidays by misappropriating funds to purchase part of the Los Hibiscos apartment complex in Lanzarote for their own use and benefit.

The hearing continues on Monday.