A three-year-old boy who suffered a brain bleed following a fall from a two-storey apartment balcony in Waterford city when a pane of glass gave way has been discharged from hospital.
Brother and sister Jayden and Nevaeh (7) fell from a balcony in Block C at Mount Suir apartments in Gracedieu at 10.40am last Friday.
The siblings fell more than 6m when the pane of glass on the balcony railing crashed to the ground. They had been playing with two other siblings who were not injured.
The children were taken to University Hospital Waterford. Nevaeh was discharged on Friday night, and Jayden returned home to parents Ryan O’Neill and Regina Smith on Sunday evening.
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Jayden narrowly missed falling on a large shard of glass. His family confirmed he suffered a brain bleed and will continue to be monitored by medical staff.
Garda forensic teams examined the balcony immediately after the incident.
Waterford City and County Council, which has controlled Block C of the Mount Suir apartment complex since 2020, said it was “providing support to the family at this time and is treating the incident with the utmost seriousness and urgency”.
It said it would “take appropriate steps to ensure that such an incident does not happen again”.
In a statement, the local authority said an immediate investigation was initiated to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident. In parallel, it said, a technical inspection of the condition and safety of all balconies within Block C would be carried out.
“Upon completion, a detailed report will be prepared and any necessary actions arising from its findings will be implemented.”
The council said it had contacted the property management company responsible for Blocks A and B at Mount Suir to advise of the ongoing inspections.
“The management company has today confirmed that it has also commenced inspections of all balconies within those blocks.”
Residents living in Block C have been advised to stay off their balconies until inspections are carried out. Last year the council received 25 complaints from its tenants, the majority of which focused on chronic leaking issues.
Waterford TD Davy Cullinane said residents at Mount Suir can no longer be left in “unacceptable and unsafe conditions”.
“What happened on Friday is unacceptable. No child or family should be left living with such risk,” he said in a statement.
