The Director of Public Prosecutions sought a stay on releasing the official investigation into the sinking of the Pisces last year off Co Wexford until he had considered the Garda file on the incident.
The investigation's final report into the sinking, which claimed five lives off Fethard-on-Sea last July, is due to be published today by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board. The investigation found the vessel was unseaworthy, overloaded and unstable, and lives were lost due to the absence of an inflatable life raft and life jackets.
The report concludes that the vessel, which had no passenger boat licence, sank quickly due to its instability when water flooded on to the deck. The hull was in poor condition, with many leaks, and modifications to the vessel compounded the situation. The bilge pump, which could have pumped off water, only worked manually and had no automatic switch.
Four men and one teenage boy drowned and five were saved when their angling vessel sank on July 28th. Those who died included three generations of the same family - a New Ross undertaker, Mr James Cooney, his son-in-law, Mr Séamus Doyle, and his grandson, Mark Doyle - along with two family friends, Mr Martin Roche and Mr John Cullen. The five survivors included the vessel's skipper.
A separate Garda investigation was conducted into the incident and a file sent to the DPP. Gardaí in New Ross said yesterday they had not received any decision yet on the file.
It is understood the marine board gave serious consideration to the request from the DPP to delay publication of its report, until such time as he had ruled on whether to prosecute or not. However, the board, which was established almost a year ago, is bound to publish reports of marine casualties within nine months of notification of an incident.
The Pisces investigation report has already been delayed once to allow relatives of those on board to have an input into a second draft. The first draft was given to relatives last November, and the final report includes comments from the relatives.
The report says the quick response of the skipper of the St Coran, a vessel in the area, ensured that the survivors were rescued. It says hypothermia may have been a contributory factor to the five deaths, due to the time spent in the water.
Versions of the report's earlier draft have already appeared in the media.
The marine board has sent out two letters to media outlets warning that publication of any portion of the draft may constitute an offence under Section 36 (6) of the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) Act 2000, with the maximum penalty a fine of €1,500 and/or 12 months' imprisonment.