The Director of Public Prosecutions yesterday asked for time to consider whether to seek a retrial on rape charges of a former nun, Ms Nora Wall.
Ms Wall and her co-accused, Mr Paul McCabe, had their convictions for the rape of a 10-year-old girl quashed on the application of the DPP by the Court of Criminal Appeal last July. The case came before the court again yesterday and was adjourned.
Mr Denis Vaughan Buckley SC, for the DPP, applied to have the case put back to the next list to fix dates - which is expected to be early in the new year.
Mr Vaughan Buckley said the DPP wanted time to consider the transcript of the case before deciding whether to seek an order from the court for a retrial.
The Chief Justice, Mr Justice Hamilton, adjourned the case for mention to the next list to fix dates.
Both Ms Wall and Mr McCabe were convicted earlier this year of the rape of a girl in the care of the Sisters of Mercy children's home in Cappoquin, Co Waterford, on a date in 1987 or 1988.
In July Ms Wall was given a life sentence for the rape. Mr McCabe was given a 12-year term for the same offence.
Days later the convictions were quashed and both were freed on their own bail pending consideration of the issue of whether to seek a retrial.
At the time, counsel for the DPP said the principal reason for his consenting to the appeal against conviction being allowed was that a witness had been called to give evidence despite a decision by the DPP that the witness should not be called.
It was stated there were two other less significant factors which had influenced the DPP's decision. The first related to a complaint of rape in England by the prosecutrix which was not pursued.
Counsel said there was another factor relating to the prosecutrix which might also be considered relevant and of which the defence was unaware.
Fine Gael's spokesman on justice, Mr Jim Higgins, described as incredible the State's decision to request a postponement of a decision on a retrial in the case. Mr Higgins said the excuse that the DPP did not get the full transcript of the case until recently was not defensible.