The Director of Public Prosecutions is not proceeding with a third trial in the case of a man who claimed he was acting in his sleep when he was alleged to have raped his friend.

The 31-year-old accused man had denied during two previous trials at the Central Criminal Court that he raped the woman at an apartment in Dublin in the early hours of 28 September 2008.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, conceded during evidence at trial that he might have had sex with the woman.

However, he claimed he was suffering from sexsomnia at the time, a rare condition that causes people to carry out sexual acts while asleep.

The first trial collapsed in 2015 due to legal issues just before a jury was to begin deliberations.

The jury in a second trial in 2016 was unable to agree a verdict following over eight hours' deliberations and a month-long trial.

A third trial date was set down for today.

When the case was called, prosecution counsel Patrick McGrath told Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy that a jury would not be required.

Mr McGrath said that he had been instructed to enter a nolle prosequi on the single charge on the indictment.