Dublin Bus has postponed releasing the report into the fatal bus accident at Wellington Quay which claimed five lives after the Director of Public Prosecutions said publication could prejudice a fair trial.
After the DPP sought a deferral of publication until his office had concluded its deliberation on the case, Dublin Bus was unable to say yesterday when it would be in a position to release the report.
"We consider that we must accede to that request, and accordingly the report will not become available until a later date," said Dublin Bus in a statement.
The company had been unable to meet its original six-week deadline for publication due to legal issues.
It had planned to publish the report on Thursday after a special board meeting. However, the DPP is understood to have said in a letter to the company on Monday that publication this week "could be alleged to prejudice a fair trial"..
The DPP received a Garda file on the case after the arrest of a man in April in connection with the accident.
Dublin Bus said it decided to postpone publication after consultations were held between the CIE executive chairman, Dr John Lynch, the Dublin Bus managing director, Dr Alan Westwell, and the chairman of the inquiry team, the former Opel executive Mr Arnold O'Byrne.
It is understood that Dr Lynch yesterday visited the families of those killed in the accident to explain the situation.
The accident on February 21st happened when an out-of-service bus passed a stationary Maynooth-bound bus at Wellington Quay on the inside, mounted a kerb and collided with passengers queuing to board the Maynooth bus.
"The company would like to express its sincere regrets to the families of the bereaved and to those injured and their families for the delay in publishing the report," Dublin Bus said.
"We fully recognise their need to be informed of all of the circumstances of the tragedy, and we will release the report as soon as that becomes possible.
"In the meantime Dublin Bus will continue to provide support and assistance to those affected by the tragedy at Wellington Quay."
While information on the cause of the crash has not been formally disclosed, the inquiry team is understood to have definitively ruled out the possibility that the accident was caused by any mechanical failure.