A court is looking at possible alternatives to prison for a homeless heroin addict who killed a man by punching him in front of a Dublin Bus.

Edward Connors is deaf and the judge heard he is being held in 23-hour lock up because of a lack of facilities for him in jail.

Eoghan Dudley (28) was crushed to death after falling under the wheels of the bus at the corner of Nassau Street and Dawson Street.

It happened during rush hour traffic on December 6th 2012.

His younger sister narrowly avoided being at the scene herself, as she was due to walk along the route around the same time her brother was killed.

From the stand earlier, Eoghan's mother described the whole thing as a nightmare she cannot wake up from.

At his sentence hearing today, Noeleen Dudley spoke of the physical pain felt by her and her family in the wake of her son's death.

Despite claiming it was an accident, Connors was convicted of manslaughter and was due to be sentenced today.

But after hearing there are no facilities for deaf people where he is being held, Judge Patrick McCartan decided to defer his decision.

He accepted that the punch was deliberate but said that what happened afterwards was "as close to an accident as the law permits".

"I don't propose to send him to prison if I can avoid that" he said - and the matter was adjourned until October to see if there is an appropriate alternative.