Council ‘not responsible for public safety on estate’

Westmeath council has said it had no responsibility “from a public safety perspective” for the unfinished housing estate in Athlone where a two-year-old boy drowned.

Environment Minister Phil Hogan has ordered the local authority to “urgently” compile a report for him on the estate after toddler Liam Keogh died on Thursday when he followed his puppy out of his home and through the fence into the nearby unfinished estate.

Liam’s mother realised her son was missing at midday yesterday and within an hour he was found at the nearby Glenatore estate. He had drowned in water close to a water drainage system. His father was working in Wales and flew home that night to be with his wife and four children.