FINES TOTALLING €2.2 million have been imposed on Bus Éireann, Meath County Council and Keltank Ltd for breaches of health and safety legislation arising out of the fatal crash in which five Meath schoolgirls died.
Judge Patrick McCartan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court fined Bus Éireann €2 million; Meath County Council €100,000, and Keltank - a family run garage in Navan that serviced the school bus - €100,000.
They had pleaded guilty to various charges following what was described as a "comprehensive and exhaustive investigation" into the incident which revealed that the anti-lock braking system (ABS) on the vehicle was not functioning.
The five schoolgirls were killed instantly in what prosecuting counsel Brendan Grehan SC, said was a "tragic road accident" that happened 6.43km (four miles) outside Navan on May 23rd, 2005.
Another 46 schoolchildren, including Rachel McGovern, who was still trapped under the bus when emergency crews arrived, a motorist in another vehicle and the bus driver, John Hubble, were injured.
Sonya Kelly, a director and company secretary, pleaded guilty on behalf of Keltank during a trial in May that being aware that ABS sensor leads were disconnected in the bus, it failed to ascertain whether a hazard arose as a consequence thereof before returning it to the driver, Mr Hubble, on May 5th, 2005.
Meath County Council pleaded guilty at Trim Circuit Criminal Court in 2006 that it failed to prepare a health and safety plan for the construction work at the site and failed to appoint a project supervisor for the works.
Bus Éireann pleaded guilty, also at Trim Circuit Criminal Court in 2006, that it failed to ensure the school bus was maintained in a safe condition in that the ABS was not working on the vehicle and that it failed to instruct Mr Hubble in relation to ABS.
Another company, McArdles Test Centre Ltd of Dundalk, Co Louth, was acquitted of a charge against it by direction of Judge McCartan at the conclusion of the trial in May at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Judge McCartan said he wished to express his deepest sympathy to the family, friends and especially school friends of those killed. "Claire McCluskey, Deirdre Scanlon, Lisa Callan, Amy McCabe and Sinead Ledwidge are to be remembered. It's impossible to put words adequate enough to describe their [ the families] loss," Judge McCartan said.
He said the young girls went to school that day expecting to be looked after and cared for, and anticipating a safe service to be provided by Bus Éireann. He commended the gardaí and ambulance crew who arrived so promptly on the scene, and the Health and Safety Authority, which he said aided the investigation.
Judge McCartan said the crash was "entirely avoidable" and though there was many factors that contributed to it, he said it was "an undoubted feature that the lack of ABS on the bus most significantly contributed to it.
"I believe that if the ABS had been working properly there would be every possibility that there would have been no accident at all," said Judge McCartan.
He accepted evidence from Rod McLellan, a braking specialist, that if the bus had properly functioning ABS, it would not have swung out on to the road as it did and Mr Hubble would most likely had been able to control it and bring it to a safe stop.
Judge McCartan said the investigation "exposed many failings and shortcomings of various agencies that hopefully will not be repeated" and noted that during the trial a school bus overturned in Donegal which fortunately did not result in any injuries.
"Perhaps there is more to be done in relation to safety," he said.
He said that, in his opinion, Bus Éireann was most responsible for the fatalities that day because the ABS was not functioning properly, "an appalling situation".
He said that Keltank's failure was to address what should have been "an evident danger" when its staff noticed disconnected ABS cables on the undercarriage of the vehicle.
Judge McCartan said that if Meath County Council had appointed a project supervisor and had implemented a health and safety plan, he believed that matters would not have been substantially different and therefore the council was "the most removed from the tragedy".