Up to 40 people left Ireland to fight with Islamic State, says Alan Shatter
Former Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has said that he was aware of up to 40 people who left Ireland to fight with the so-called 'Islamic State' group in Syria during his time in office.
“We were aware of in the region of 30 to 40 people from this country who had gone to fight with Islamic State in Syria,” he said.
When asked if they were Irish, he said: “Yes, yes, most of them were.
"And I don’t want to get into individuals - not every individual in this category in this country would necessary have been born into the Muslim community.
He also revealed that Defence Ministers from around Europe had been expressing serious concerns at a series of informal meetings.
“I was a member of an informal committee of Ministers for Justice, we didn’t seek publicity for what we were doing, but we were sitting down, looking at in 2012, 2013, what might be done to try to prevent these types of attacks,” he said.
“And I recall at the time, it was the Ministers for Justice in Belgium and France who were most concerned, and indeed the minister in Holland as well.”
Deputy Shatter also said that there is no moral principle that says we can remain neutral against a group who behead people and enslave women.
He said that while the threat of a terrorist attack on Ireland is low - it does exist.
“From an Irish perspective, we occasionally just sit back and think about what’s happening,” he said.
“As Minister for Justice, I would have said … exactly what both the Taoiseach and [Minister for Justice and Equality] Frances Fitzgerald have said in recent days, is that the threat in Ireland is regarded by our security forces as low.
"That doesn't mean that we're immune to threat, that doesn't mean an event may not happen in this country, it doesn't mean that this country may not be used as a base to launch a terrorist attacks elsewhere.
"But we have to remember we live in a global universe now … it's a miracle that an Irish citizen didn't die in Paris."
