The culvert where 14-year-old Noah Donohoe was found dead should be “condemned as a death trap”, according to Fiona Donohoe’s solicitor Niall Murphy.
On Tuesday, the jury in the Noah Donohoe inquest found it was possible, but not probable, that failings by the Department of Infrastructure (DfI) over the tunnel in which he was found dead contributed to his death.
The jury found that the DfI had failed to identify a hazard at the site, which it maintains, and that there was no warning sign.
They also found numerous failings in the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI’s) investigation, but that these did not contribute to the schoolboy’s death.
On Wednesday, Murphy said it was apparent that a child could have “navigated the width” of the bars outside the drain entrance, which has since been “recognised and rectified”.
“In mature reflection, this storm drain can be condemned as a death trap because that’s what it was and the inquest took a very methodical and deep examination of the history of the installation of that storm drain,” he told BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme.
In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said her thoughts were with Noah’s family, and that she “unreservedly” accepts the findings of the inquest.
“As minister, I will make sure the department does everything it needs to ensure all lessons are learned,” she added.