Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh will vote against the controversial ‘return hubs’ proposal, warning that fundamental human rights are not guaranteed and the scheme represents poor value for money for EU taxpayers.
MEPs in the European Parliament are set to cast their final vote on the Returns Regulations on Wednesday 17th June. The proposal would allow EU countries to deport individuals who have received a return decision to third countries with which they have no connection.
MEP Maria Walsh, a member of the European Parliament’s Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee, said:
“I will be voting against the return hubs proposal for two key reasons; the current text fails to guarantee the protection of fundamental human rights and also represents poor value for money for EU taxpayers.
“The outsourcing of a country’s migration policy is extremely costly and has failed many times in the past. We should learn from countries such as the UK and its disastrous Rwanda scheme. The UK taxpayer spent approximately £700 million on a policy that faced numerous legal challenges and was ultimately scrapped without relocating any individuals to Rwanda. I do not want Irish or European taxpayers footing the bill for a policy that could suffer the same fate.
“Return hubs also carry serious risks of human rights violations, in particular for families and children – given they operate outside the legal limits of the EU. While these centres will be funded by European taxpayers, they will not be governed by EU standards. Instead, the treatment of an individual will depend on the laws and norms of the host country.
“When we speak about migration, it is important that we separate fact from fiction. The claim that immigration continues to increase is not supported by the data. In 2024, 912,000 people applied for international protection in the EU for the first time, a decrease of 13% compared with 2023. In Ireland, asylum applications dropped nearly 30% in 2025. These figures point not to a system in crisis, but to one that is stabilising.
“If a person does not have the right to remain in Europe, they should not stay. But making return hubs the cornerstone of our response is far too simplistic. They are not a silver bullet – they are a shortcut that risk severe human rights violations funded by the European taxpayer.
“This proposal is likely to pass, in which case our attention must now turn to the Irish Government. It will be up to them to decide whether Ireland opts into this policy.
“I hope that Minister Jim O’Callaghan, whose EU political group Renew Europe is expected to oppose return hubs, will think very carefully before signing Ireland up to this approach. Ireland has an opportunity to champion migration policies that are both effective and consistent with our values as we prepare to assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1st.”