ISIS bride Lisa Smith is one step closer to returning home after the Taoiseach said he will arrange a passport for her daughter.
The Irish Sunday Mirror can reveal the Co Louth woman has begged the Government for documents which will rescue her and her two-year-old from a hellhole Syrian refugee camp.
Leo Varadkar previously said he didn’t want to see the mother and daughter separated.
Asked during an interview at his Dail office if he would grant the girl an Irish passport, he said: “The child? Yes.
“Ultimately her child is an Irish citizen because Lisa is a naturally born Irish citizen and any kids she has are Irish citizens too and entitled to an Irish passport.”
When asked did he know the child’s first name, he said: “I don’t actually, no.”
Smith, from Dundalk, named her daughter Rakaya.
The 38-year-old left Ireland in 2015 to join ISIS after being radicalised here.
She married and had one child before her husband died.
In correspondence seen by the Irish Sunday Mirror, Smith asked for an emergency passport for her daughter and for it to be delivered securely to her in Syria.
A letter from her lawyer, Darragh Mackin, addressed to the head of consular division at the Department of Foreign Affairs, read: “As you are aware Rakaya does not hold a valid Irish passport or travel documentation.
“As such, we would ask that you confirm emergency travel documentation can be made available by the consular division.
“In addition, please confirm the proposed mechanisms for delivering the emergency travel documentations.”
In previous interviews Smith denied handling weapons and said she was not allowed to fight for ISIS.
She added she was not radicalised or “out to kill anyone” and had no intention of hurting anyone in Ireland.
The Government has come under fire for not being decisive enough on when she will be allowed back home.
Last month, speaking on RTE's Today With Sean O’Rourke, Mr Varadkar said: “I want her child to be able to come home, I would never separate a mother and child, so yes, I want her to come home.
“We must never forget there is a child involved here and that child is innocent and an Irish citizen.”
Last week, Mr Varadkar admitted he wasn’t even sure if the Government had asked the Syrian authorities to send the toddler to Ireland.
He said: “I actually don’t know if an official request has been made, but I do know that diplomatic staff have been in touch with her and in touch with her family.”
The head of foreign relations in north eastern Syria, Dr Abdukarun Omar, has stated there has not been any formal request made for the Government to repatriate the mother and daughter.
When asked had anybody from the Government spoken with Smith directly on the phone, the Taoiseach said: “I’d have to check that and again, I’m not being evasive here, but every citizen is a private individual.”
