Migrants were not crossing into Donegal from Northern Ireland, Senator Blaney said, but heading to the International Protection Office in Dublin to claim asylum. From there, they can be sent to places around Ireland.
By April 12, more than 6,000 people had applied for asylum in Ireland, which has a population of about 5.1m people, this year.
If that rate continues, Ireland will have a record number of more than 20,000 asylum claims by the end of 2024. The previous record was 13,000 in 2004.
Senator Blaney wants Mr Harris, the leader of Fine Gael, to “show leadership” by ordering an analysis of all the Irish counties, identify which towns are “full” and either fund them or designate that they cannot take any more migrants.
He warned that immigration had the potential to be the “number one” issue in the European elections, which will precede an Irish general election Sinn Féin is predicted to win ahead of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
He admitted that Ireland had a healthy budget surplus but the money had not been ploughed into services.
“I’m not about to kick the backside of my colleagues and government. I’m just asking them to step up and take responsibility and look after our people,” he told The Telegraph.
“What’s happening at the moment is driving anti-immigration sentiment and it’s dangerous, to say the least, to not deal with it.”