Garda security services are conducting a criminal investigation in relation to possible terrorist offences by Irish woman Lisa Smith, who is detained in a camp in Syria for wives and children of Islamic State fighters.
The head of Garda Security and Intelligence, Assistant Commissioner Michael O'Sullivan said they will be preparing a “comprehensive file” for the Director of Public Prosecutions on the matter.
In an interview with the Irish Examiner and RTÉ, the Garda security chief said officers were working with the DPP on how to translate information they were receiving on her activities abroad into evidence.
“Lisa Smith is subject to criminal investigation for offences that may have been committed under the Criminal Justice Terrorist Offences Act 2005,” he said.
In a rare interview, also covering issues relating to Brexit and the threat from dissidents, Mr O'Sullivan said that of the estimated 30 Irish people who travelled to war zones – also referred to as foreign terrorist fighters – around 16 are believed to be now dead.
He said that some five individuals had returned to Ireland and that security sections had engaged with them.
“They were subject to assessment and a level of investigation by us,” he said. “We continue to engage with a number of those and I'm happy to say they do not pose a threat to society or the State.”
He said that fewer than 50 individuals in Ireland are of interest to security services because of links to extremist Islamist views or associations.
He said a “handful” were under direct surveillance. He said they were suspected of financing terrorism abroad or providing false documentation and not of posing a threat of attack here.
He said the threat level was still rated at "moderate" – meaning an attack was possible but not likely – but said the threat was now at the “lower” end of moderate.