WATERFORD CITY AND County Council has begun inspecting balconies in an apartment block after a serious incident in which two young children were hospitalised after falling from a balcony last Friday.

The children aged 7 and 3 were taken to University Hospital Waterford on Friday night after falling more than 20ft (six metres) from the balcony after a glass panel gave way.

The Council said in a statement this afternoon that a “comprehensive technical inspection” has commenced, investigating the safety of balconies in Block C of the apartment complex in Mount Suir Manor in Carrickphierish.

Residents of Block C of the apartment complex have been told to stay off their balconies until the inspections are complete.

Waterford City and County Council bought Block C of the apartment complex following the economic crash. The Council said it has contacted the property management company responsible for Blocks A and B of the complex, which has already begun its own inspection into every balcony in those blocks. 

The Council said that it is currently “providing support to the family” and that the authority is treating last Friday’s incident with the “utmost seriousness and urgency”.

Mayor of Waterford city and county, Labour councillor Séamus Ryan, told The Journal that “as a mayor, I’m deeply concerned about this.”

“We need to come to a conclusion as to what caused this and correct whatever the fault or faults are in the complex without delay,” the mayor said.

Killian Mangan, the communications officer for the Community Action Tenants Union (CATU), told The Journal that there have been “repeated calls from residents for their concerns about safety and conditions to be acknowledged and acted upon”. 

CATU has been working to improve safety and conditions in the block. 

According to the Council a detailed report will follow the inspection and “necessary actions” will be implemented by the local authority based on its findings.