More court reports in brief.
Coroner calls for mandatory truck mirrors
Dublin City Coroner Dr Brian Farrell has expressed grave concern at the number of pedestrians and cyclists being killed by large vehicles as a result of driver blind spots.
Mr Farrell said that additional mirrors and sensors in the cab of large vehicles would eliminate driver blind spots altogether, but these were not yet mandatory. In the past two weeks his court had heard three inquests into the death of pedestrians as a result of large vehicle blind spots.
He made his comments at an inquest into the death of Josephine Nulty (67), Glasnevin, Dublin, who was killed when she entered a truck's blind spot at the Slaney Road and Finglas Road junction in 2004.
A jury returned a verdict of "accidental death" and recommended, among other things, additional obligatory mirrors on large vehicles to alleviate blind spots.
€16,000 award for unfair dismissal
A legal secretary who claimed the solicitor's office where she worked was often "stressful and tense" has been awarded €16,000 by the Employment Appeals Tribunal.
The tribunal found that Veronica Dorr, Avondale Park, Dundalk, Co Louth, was unfairly dismissed by Traynor Mallon and Co, Clanbrassil Street, Dundalk.
Ms Dorr told the tribunal she had been working for them since 1991 and was the longest-serving staff member in the office.
She said the atmosphere was often stressful and tense if the principal solicitor for whom which she worked was in a bad humour.
In October 2004, a file was left on her chair with a note from the solicitor attached. Visible to other staff members, the note said she had put no effort into an aspect of the file and that he wished to discuss it with her.
She explained to the solicitor that the work he was referring to was only a draft and she would do it again. She said he was "discourteous" and she was distressed and humiliated and "felt panicky".
She said she was going home but had no intention of resigning.
The following day a colleague had called to give her her wages and later she returned to the office and told staff she would be returning to work.
She spoke to the bookkeeper who suggested that she got a medical certificate and that the solicitor in question "should do an anger-management course".
She got a medical certificate and gave it to a colleague but 11 days after the file incident, she nearly "dropped with shock" when she received her P45 in the post.
The solicitor told the tribunal the secretary was very experienced and he enjoyed a good working relation with her.
Ms Dorr had been extremely agitated and told him, "I'm leaving, I'm going", and he had believed she meant she was leaving her job.
Ms Dorr had not contacted him and he told the tribunal that if she had, she would still have her job.
Murder conviction appeal dismissed
The Court of Criminal Appeal has dismissed an appeal by a man against his conviction for the murder of a New Age traveller at a camp site at Curreeny, Co Tipperary.
John James Kelly (41) was convicted in April 2005, after a retrial, of the murder of Christopher Cybulla at a camp site on December 28th 1999.