Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has asked Westmeath County Council for a formal report into the death of a toddler yesterday on an unfinished housing estate.
It is understood the two-year-old boy was following a dog when he wandered from his home at Hazelwood in Athlone at about midday..
Just three months short of his third birthday, the boy lived on the estate with his Lithuanian mother Yolanda and three siblings. His father works in Wales.
He is believed to have walked a few hundred metres from Hazelwood through Rindoon Park before entering the unfinished Glenatore Estate through gaps in a mesh fence. He was found in a pool of water by a local man about an hour after the search for him began.
The boy was taken to Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, Co Galway, where he later died.
A spokesman for the Department of the Environment confirmed the Minister had been in contact with the council yesterday and that he had asked for a report on the matter. “The Minister has every sympathy with the family, it’s a terrible tragedy. He has asked for a report as a matter of urgency,” he said.
Glenatore - which is close to Lough Ree - was granted planning permission for 66 terraced homes and apartments in 2005. Just five properties were occupied and 13 were vacant, according to the 2011 national house survey. Others were never started or were at various stages of construction when building work stopped.
A spokesman from Westmeath County Council said Glenatore is listed as a category three unfinished housing estate - meaning while there is no on-site work, a developer remains in place and is responsible for public health and safety on site. Category three is one level below the worst grade in need of remedial works.
Inspectors from the Health and Safety Authority are carrying out their own investigation into the circumstances of the death and to establish if the unfinished estate was still a working building site.
The child’s uncle, PJ Keogh, visited the site yesterday. Mr Keogh said the fence had been in a state of disrepair for a long time and despite numerous calls from residents, nothing had been done, apart from the erection of barbed wire on the top of it. He described the area as an accident waiting to happen.
Additional reporting: PA