A Department for Infrastructure official denied knowing nothing about whether a culvert hatch was locked when 14-year-old Noah Donohoe entered it. Jonathan McKee gave evidence at Belfast Coroner's Court during the inquest into the boy's death. The inquest entered its 14th week on Friday.

Noah Donohoe, a pupil at St Malachy's College, left home on his bike on June 21, 2020, to meet friends in the Cavehill area of north Belfast. His naked body was found six days later on June 27 in an underground water tunnel more than 600 metres downstream from the culvert inlet behind houses at Northwood Road. A post-mortem examination determined drowning as the likely cause of death.

McKee stated the department maintained the tunnel where Donohoe died. The culvert steps were refurbished in 2017, when the debris grille was replaced. McKee described the new grille as a like-for-like replacement that modernised the metalwork for better maintenance while keeping debris out of the pipe.

Brenda Campbell KC, representing Noah's mother Fiona Donohoe, pointed to a May 2017 photograph showing a padlock on the old grille but none on the new one. She noted the presence of an unlocked hatch and ladder. McKee said accessibility to the culvert remained largely the same before and after 2017.

The department concluded the hatch was probably not locked from 2017 to 2020. McKee said the department did not need to know how many children lived in nearby houses with access to the area. Following media requests after the death, the department formed the view early that the hatch was unlocked and stated this openly.

Campbell suggested the department lacked knowledge of the padlock status between June 30 and July 2, 2020. McKee rejected this, calling it wrong. He noted the death came as a shock and the department sought facts amid media attention and information requests.

McKee addressed risk assessments, stating risks around such infrastructure cannot be reduced to zero. He identified flood risk, entry into the pipe, and entrapment against the screen as main concerns. The department deemed the debris screen appropriate for the site in June 2020. There was engagement with residents in 2017 and earlier about the refurbishment works.