Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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21. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Irish citizens known to be engaged in armed conflict in either Syria or Iraq; if she is satisfied that the measures that are in place to guard against the spread of fundamentalist Islamic terrorism here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35371/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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There is considerable concern across Europe and elsewhere at the phenomenon of individuals travelling to conflict areas in the Middle East and the consequential threat posed to national security.

The compilation of accurate statistics in relation to the numbers of actual foreign fighters is problematic due to the secretive nature of those travelling and the many and circuitous routes some individuals take in reaching their destination of choice. Many of the frontiers are unguarded and porous.

The number of Irish citizens who are believed to have travelled to the conflict zones since 2010 is estimated at between 25 and 30, 3 of whom are known to have died.

Within that number are individuals who would have travelled to Libya and other Arab States to take part in the popular uprisings known as the Arab Spring which began in December 2010. Some of these are known to have returned.

As previously stated, the phenomenon of individuals travelling to the conflict zones has affected the majority of European States and it is one to which Ireland gave priority during the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2013. In that connection Ireland was successful in gaining the agreement of the Member States to carry out a review of the EU Strategy for Countering Radicalisation and Recruitment to Terrorism.

A primary point of focus in this review is the foreign fighter issue. A number of initiatives at EU level have been developed to combat this phenomenon including community relations initiatives, media campaigns, enhanced tracking of movements, engagement with third countries (notably Turkey) and engagement with internet service providers to curb radical online content.

In Ireland An Garda Síochána monitors the movements of those suspected of involvement in extremist behaviour and in line with best practice internationally has engaged with returnees from the conflict areas. In tandem with that the Gardaí operate a progressive community relations programme through its Racial Inter-Cultural and Diversity Office. That office is in regular contact with our minority communities and recently received favourable comment on its operation from the UN Counter Terrorism Committee. It is of course essential that at times like this entire communities do not get stigmatised because of the actions of a few. It has to be recognised that the vast majority of our citizens wish only to go about their daily lives in peace.

I am also fully committed to safeguarding the security of the Common Travel Area. This is given the highest priority by our Immigration Service. Operational and data sharing cooperation with the UK immigration authorities is at an all time high. Across all aspects of immigration, including visas, asylum, citizenship and border control, there is unprecedented day to day cooperation between the two countries. This includes the sharing on a daily basis of large amounts of information on visa applicants to detect persons who are trying to enter either country by evading immigration controls and checks. At ports of entry there is close operational cooperation involving constant liaison between Irish and British immigration officers on individuals arriving at our borders.

The enhanced cooperation has stemmed from quarterly meetings of senior Irish and British immigration officials over a number of years and has been discussed between myself and my UK counterpart and at Taoiseach / Prime Minister level.

Finally, I wish to advise the Deputy that I recently published new legislation in the form of the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2014. The Bill will transpose into Irish law an EU Council Framework Decision on combating terrorism (2008/919/JHA). In particular, the Bill, when enacted will amend the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005 to create the three new offences of, public provocation to commit a terrorist offence, recruitment for terrorism and training for terrorism. These offences will carry sentences of up to 10 years imprisonment on conviction on indictment.