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

Those are fair questions. The Turkish Government has made clear that when it finds and picks up people who have been radicalised or are supportive of ISIS in northeastern Turkey, it intends to deport or repatriate them and it expects their home countries to accept them back. From our perspective, only two people are the subject of our current conversations with the Turkish authorities. One of them is a young and vulnerable child who is my primary concern in this situation. We have obligations in that regard. There are all sorts of questions relating to radicalisation, questioning and the role of An Garda Síochána if or when Lisa Smith comes home. We must deal with those questions comprehensively across multiple Departments, particularly my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality. We are working closely together to make sure we do what is appropriate in this situation. My primary concern is the two-year-old girl. We have an obligation to protect her as an Irish citizen and that is what is driving all of this. As events unfold, we will be able to offer more detailed analysis of the thinking behind the decisions we have made.

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