The jury in the trial of two companies facing charges on foot of the investigation into the Meath school bus crash was discharged yesterday after the judge was told one of the jurors had allegedly attended a funeral of one of the schoolgirls who died.
The juror in question had denied attending any funeral when asked last week.
Before discharging the jury at Trim Circuit Criminal Court yesterday morning, Judge Tom Teehan heard evidence from the employer of the juror in question.
In reply to the judge, he said he recalled getting a phone call from the juror "requesting time off to go to the funerals in question".
He was not sure which funeral but believed "it was someone involved in the bus crash". He did not recall if the juror said he was related to the victims.
When he heard last week that the man was on the jury for the trial, "my first reaction was, how the hell could he be when he was at the funeral".
After the employer's evidence, Roddy O'Hanlon SC for McArdles Test Centre and Derek Kenneally SC for Keltank made submissions to the judge.
Concerns were first raised last week when the employer rang Bus Éireann and alerted them.
The judge asked the juror if he had taken time off work to go to a funeral of one of the girls.
He replied "no" and when asked if he was related to any of them, he again said "no".
Yesterday morning Judge Teehan told the jury: "I have had evidence before me that indeed one of you did attend at the funeral."
However, he said he was not making any "definitive findings" about the evidence but said "it is fundamental that justice is seen to be done".
He said that it was with reluctance he was discharging the jury and said that the trial should be transferred to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Two companies were on trial facing charges arising from the Health and Safety Authority investigation into the accident.
Balbriggan-based Keltank had pleaded not guilty to two charges relating to the ABS braking system.
Dundalk company McArdles Test Centre had pleaded not guilty to charges connected to a test carried out on the bus, which the prosecution claims did not detect the fact that the ABS light was not working.
Neither company was facing charges arising directly from the crash which occurred on May 23rd, 2005.