The Taoiseach says the State will have to determine if an Irish woman detained in Syria is a threat to Ireland should she return.
37-year-old Lisa Smith has been detained over alleged links to the so-called Islamic State.
The former member of the Defence Forces who is from Dundalk is being held at a Syrian camp along with her two-year-old son.
Leo Varadkar says authorities in Syria will want to interrogate her before she can attempt to return to Ireland.
“As an Irish citizen she will have the right to return to Ireland, as will her child who is an Irish citizen but it is not just as simple as coming here and everything proceeding as though nothing had happened,” said Mr Varadkar.
There will need to be an interrogation by the authorities there. There may need to be a prosecution there.
“We will need to make sure that if she does return to Ireland that she isn’t a threat to anyone here either.”
Recently, the Taoiseach had said that Ireland would take back extremists or sympathizers who have traveled to war-torn regions as we shouldn’t expect our citizens “to be somebody else’s problem.”
He added he would be “loath to revoke anyone’s citizenship provided they are a citizen by right or acquired their citizenship appropriately.”
Irish diplomats are expected to travel to Syria in the coming days.