A former member of the Irish air force who fled to Syria to become an ISIS bride will undergo a 'security assessment' to ensure she poses no threat.
Speaking in the Dáil - Irish parliament - Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Dundalk woman will be vetted to ensure she's 'not a threat to life and limb here in Ireland'.
In stark contrast to Britain's handling of ISIS bride Shamima Begum's case, the Taoiseach also confirmed that Smith's case was spoken about again today and the matter of her child's citizenship could see the pair return home.
Former life: Lisa Smith (circled) as an Irish soldier, accompanying then-Irish premier Bertie Ahern (left), in a picture taken at an aerodrome near Dublin in 2008
He said: 'I am very conscious of the fact that while nobody can condone the choice that she has made and the actions that she took in aligning herself with ISIS, a terrorist regime that is hell-bent on the destruction of the west and Christendom, she does have a two-year-old child that is an Irish citizen and that child is an innocent child.
'And as is the case with all Irish citizens, they will be permitted to re-enter the State should they try to do so.'
He also said that the vetting 'obviously' doesn't apply to the two-year-old child.
The Taoiseach also confirmed that Smith's case was spoken about again today at the Dáil
Mr Varadkar also dismissed the suggestion that Ireland's government jet would be used to repatriate Smith, he said it was 'absolutely without foundation'.
He added that the jet doesn't even fly as far as Turkey or Syria, where the 37-year-old is holed up in a Kurdish-controlled camp.
Mr Varadkar told the Dáíl that efforts are being made to verify the details and make direct contact with her.
He also told delegates that whilst Ireland will always provide consular assistance to its citizens, the country's ability to do so is limited in war zones.
He highlighted the safety of Smith and her child and said this is of the utmost concern for the government.
Lisa Smith 'was a party girl who enjoyed a good time' before she went through a bad breakup, converted to Islam and became radicalised, friends say.
Lisa Smith, pictured left at the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria with her two-year-old daughter in recent days, and right before she fled Ireland to join ISIS, is pleading to return home and says prison in Ireland could be no worse than life at the camp
By 2013 she had converted to Islam in Dundalk where she apparently began attending the local mosque and bringing much younger relatives along for the worship.
Her Facebook page is also said to have undergone a transformation, from 'cute animal' photos to pictures of her wearing a veil and posts appearing to praise jihadists.
Speaking to Extra.ie, Carol or 'Karimah' Duffy said she had tried to keep Smith from turning to radicalism.
The Muslim community in Ireland had 'strongly rejected' her extremism, she said, adding that she would have reported her if she had known the extent of her radicalisation.
Another friend told The Sun: 'She was a party girl in the sense that she enjoyed going out, drinking and having a good time.
'She was really sound, a really nice girl and someone who was always there for her friends.
At the height of its power the Islamic State's 'caliphate' stretched from Baghdad in Iraq all the way across north eastern Syria in the west
'She started suffering from depression after a bad break-up and she was introduced to Islam by a close associate. She really got into it and became really radicalised.'
Later she reportedly described Western culture as 'dirty' saying that her friends had been 'brainwashed' into standing by it.
Smith is believed to have left Ireland in 2013 or 2014, apparently travelling to Bizerte in Tunisia where she met her husband.
By 2016 photos from Syria had appeared
