The prosecution of businesswoman Deirdre Foley on charges linked to redundancies at Clerys department store in Dublin has been struck out due to delays on disclosure of evidence.
Ms Foley, co-defendant Mark Redmond, of Belfry Dale, Saggart, Co Dublin, and the previous owners of Clerys, OCS Operations, had faced charges of breaking protection of employment laws.
In June 2015, OCS Operations petitioned the High Court for liquidation.
This was followed by the collective redundancies of 460 people, including 130 directly employed by Clerys.
Dublin District Court Judge John Brennan has acceded to a defence request to strike out the charges on the grounds that the prosecution had failed to comply with an order for disclosure.
Mr Brennan said that any further adjournment would encroach on the defendants' rights to fair procedure and an expeditious trial.
Barrister Ronan Kennedy applied for costs for Ms Foley and Mr Redmond, but this was not granted.
The prosecution was brought by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the Workplace Relations Commission.
The charges were failing to initiate consultations with representatives of employees, failing to supply them with all relevant information relating to the redundancies and not notifying the Minister for Jobs in writing.
In a statement, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection said: "The decision of the court is being considered by the department, in consultation with colleagues from the WRC" and "it also intended to consult legal views on the issue."
In December, prosecutors dropped the most serious charge against Ms Foley.
The charge of impeding a Workplace Relations Commission inspector was withdrawn following legal argument about non-disclosure of drafts of witness statements.
A similar charge against Natrium Ltd, which bought out Clerys, was also dropped on that date.
A separate prosecution against a director of OCS Operations began last month.
James Brydie, of Kingsmere Road, London, faces six charges.
He is accused of impeding and giving false or misleading information to a WRC inspector, as well as four counts of breaking employment protection laws.
