Waterford TD calls for multi-agency task force to examine Mount Suir Manor 

Waterford Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane has called for the formation of a multi-agency taskforce to examine a council-owned apartment block, following an incident in which two young children fell from a two-storey balcony.

On March 20, Nevaeh and Jayden O’Neill fell from the balcony of Block C of Mount Suir Manor after their apartment's balcony windowpane came loose and fell to the ground.

Nevaeh O’Neill (7) suffered minor scratches and returned home in the evening, while Jayden O’Neill (3) is understood to have suffered a brain bleed.

The apartment block has been at the centre of long-standing complaints about poor living conditions. Originally developed by William Neville & Sons Ltd, the apartment block has been in the remit of Waterford City and County Council since 2020.

Deputy Cullinane said a taskforce should be led by the local authority with a full internal and external examination of every single apartment.

A previous Council inspection in 2023, carried out by Doyle Morris Group, declared the property largely “in good condition.” 

“What has happened at Mount Suir is deeply serious and the response so far is not good enough,” said Deputy Cullinane.

“Residents in this complex have been left down for years and they cannot be left waiting any longer for meaningful action.

“There is growing and understandable anger that families have been left in such appalling conditions.

“Residents have every right to ask why it has taken so long to reach this point and why stronger intervention did not happen sooner.

“It is shocking to see the state of some of these apartments, inside and out. Residents have been left high and dry for far too long. They deserve better and urgent action.

“The key priority now is that every resident knows the full extent of the problems in this complex and that immediate steps are taken to protect them.”

Deputy Cullinane said he would raise the issue in the Dáil next week.