The jury in the Meath bus crash inquest has returned a verdict of accidental death after 35 minutes of deliberation.
Deirdre Scanlon, Claire McCluskey, Aimee McCabe, Lisa Callan and Sinead Ledwidge died when the coach they were travelling in overturned at Mooretown on the Navan-Kentstown road in Co Meath on 23 May 2005.
The inquest was set up to examine the cause of death for each schoolgirl and the circumstances which caused the Bus Éireann vehicle to overturn.
Eight recommendations were made, six from the jury and two from the family, which will be passed on to Government Departments.
The jury called for anti-lock breaking systems - ABS - to be installed in all buses; for drivers to be fully instructed on the use of ABS, and for the owners of buses to monitor ABS systems and ensure they are working at all times.
It also recommended that seatbelts be fitted to all seats in school buses and that school buses be constantly assessed for safety.
The families of the five deceased schoolgirls recommended that the three-for-two seating policy - whereby three school children can sit in seats designed for two adults - should be abandoned and that traffic lights on both sides of the road should be properly visible when road works are in progress.
In his evidence, Dublin County Coroner Brian Farrell - who carried out post mortem examinations on three of the deceased - extended his sympathies to the families.
After reading the summary of the pathology reports for the five schoolgirls, Mr Farrell said they died of multiple injuries consistent with roll over injuries in traffic accidents where passengers are not restrained.
*Deirdre Scanlon died of multiple injuries including severe head injuries
* Claire McCluskey died of multiple injuries and severe chest injuries
* Aimee McCabe died of multiple injuries including a brain injury
* Lisa Callan died of multiple injuries and an unstable neck fracture with asphyxia
* Sinead Ledwidge died of multiple injuries and asphyxia
The inquest was opened shortly before 11am this morning by Meath County Coroner John Lacy, who said it marked the end of a long legal process for the families of the deceased but that the human tragedy would never leave them.
