The sentencing hearing of two companies and a local authority as a result of the Navan bus crash has been told that a review by Bus Éireann revealed half the buses examined did not have functioning anti-lock braking systems.
Bus Éireann, Keltank Ltd, and Meath County Council all pleaded guilty to various charges arising from the accident in which five young schoolgirls died three years ago.
Claire McCluskey, Deirdre Scanlon, Lisa Callan, Aimee McCabe and Sinead Ledwidge all died on the afternoon of 23 May 2005 when the school bus bringing them home overturned near Kentstown.
After the subsequent investigation, Bus Éireann admitted two charges including failing to maintain the bus in a safe condition in that the anti-lock braking system was not working.
Meath County Council pleaded guilty to two charges relating to the management of the road works at the crash site.
Detective Sergeant Alf Martin told the court that when he arrived at the scene a few minutes after the accident there was 'an air of unreality'.
It was clear to the untrained eye, Detective Sergeant Martin said, that the ABS cables were not connected underneath the bus in the crash.
He also said that after the accident Bus Éireann brought in an outside expert to review many of their buses.
That consultant discovered that around half did not have functioning ABS.
That could have been caused by the bus movements damaging the wiring, but by simply re-routing the wires the problems were solved.
The consultant also discovered that in some cases the ABS warning light was not functioning on the drivers' panel.
On the bus involved in the crash, it was found that the light bulb had been removed.
The expert had concluded that ABS was not understood nor maintained as it should be.
Detective Sergeant Martin said the drivers' panel on the bus involved in the crash had earlier been replaced with one supplied by Bus Éireann, but the engineer who fitted it said the ABS light was not working when he installed it.
Despite extensive garda investigations they were unable to discover who removed the light bulb from the bus involved in the crash.
A witness also said that he was given conflicting opinions from Bus Éireann personnel about the advantages or disadvantages of having ABS on vehicles.
Just over a week ago Keltank Ltd, which serviced the bus at its depot in Navan, pleaded guilty to a charge of knowing that the leads to the ABS were not connected, that it failed to ascertain whether that posed a hazard.
Today it is expected that all three defendants will be sentenced by Judge Pat McCartan.
Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, they face unlimited fines.
