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

It is very difficult to get a handle on the numbers as they change all the time. The Belarusian side is effectively trying to weaponise incredibly vulnerable people, promising them entry to the EU, bringing them from countries such as Syria and Iraq and bussing them to the border. Then those unfortunate migrants find that they are trapped. That is what is happening. We need to first, try to stop it, otherwise we will have 18,000 more next week. Let us imagine if we had 18,000 people waiting to come into Ireland with no plan or management entity to deal with them.

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