Political leaders have been expressing their sympathy for those bereaved in yesterday's bus crash in Co Meath.
The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, described it as a terrible and sudden tragedy, and said his thoughts were with those who had been injured physically, as well as those who had been hurt emotionally.
President Mary McAleese has said she intends to visit the families of the five teenage girls killed.
She said she was completely shocked and overwhelmed at the news of the crash.
It is an area she knows well because she lived nearby for many years.
St Michael's Loreto School in Navan, where four of the five girls who died in the accident attended, has been celebrating its centenary this year.
President McAleese launched the centenary last year and met some of the girls who lost their lives.
She described them as 'gorgeous young women' and said her thoughts are with the parents of those who died.
Meanwhile in the Dáil, the Minister of State at the Department of Education, Síle de Valera, said the possibility of introducing legislation to require motorists to slow down when approaching a school bus with flashing lights is being examined.
The minister said a pilot project had been successfully tried this year, and she planed to roll it out on a phased basis in other parts of the country.
