Boy (3) discharged from hospital following 20ft balcony fall
Sarah Slater
A three-year-old boy who suffered a brain bleed following a fall from a two-story apartment balcony in Waterford city when a pane of glass gave way has been discharged from hospital.
Brother and sister Jayden (3) and Nevaeh (7) fell from a balcony in Block C at Mount Suir apartments in Gracedieu at around 10.40am on Friday last.
The siblings fell more than 20 feet to the ground 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 by ambulance to University Hospital Waterford (UHW) for treatment of their injuries. Nevaeh was discharged from hospital on Friday night and Jayden returned home to his parents, Ryan O’Neill and Regina Smith, on Sunday evening.
He narrowly missed falling on a large shard of glass. His family have confirmed that his son suffered a brain bleed and will continue to be monitored by medical staff.
Garda forensic teams examined the balcony from where the children fell in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
Waterford City and County Council, which has owned Block C of the Mount Suir apartment complex since 2020, has said that technical experts will carry out inspections of all balconies on Monday.
In a statement, the Council said it has initiated a formal investigation around the circumstances of the incident.
Residents living in Block C have been advised to stay off their balconies until inspections are completed.
Mayor of Waterford City and Council, Labour councillor Séamus Ryan, added that the council are fully investigating what occurred.
“We will get to the bottom of what happened,” he said.
Waterford TD Davy Cullinane said that 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,” Cullinane said in a statement.
He continued: “The response so far is not good enough. Residents have been raising concerns about the complex for years. A full internal and external inspection of every apartment in the complex must happen now, led by a multi-agency task force under the local authority.”
He noted that councillors Jim Griffin and Joeanne Bailey have been engaging with residents for years and raising these issues at council level.
“Last Friday’s incident must be the last of its kind. Residents deserve safe homes and urgent action,” he said.
Cullinane said he plans to raise the matter in the Dáil this week.
Last year, the council received 25 complaints from its tenants, most of which concerned chronic leaking issues.
