Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We should not describe what is happening now as a situation where migrants are being pushed between Belarus and European borders. The EU is not pushing anybody nor are member states. They are trying to protect their borders from uncontrolled migration. There were 18,000 migrants on the border with Poland at the start of the week. It looks as though some may have been shipped elsewhere now. We do not know where. Human rights organisations are not being allowed to access migrants on the Belarusian side of the border.

I accept that the EU, of course, has a responsibility to ensure the welfare of migrants is protected but the migrants are not on the EU side of the border fence; they are on the Belarusian side and they are being brought there and organised by people in a Belarusian military uniform. We have seen the videos of that. My view, as I have said at the Foreign Affairs Council, is that we should involve UN organisations, and insist on access to meet, interview and support migrants on the Belarusian side of the border so that we can give them the supports that they need.

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