There is speculation that Irish woman Lisa Smith could be returned to Ireland as early as next Tuesday.

The Dundalk woman left three years ago to join the so-called Islamic State group in Syria.

She is currently being held in a camp on the Turkish/Syrian border with her two-year-old child.

Earlier this week, the Turkish foreign minister was quoted as saying that two Irish people are to be deported, along with more than 20 other Europeans.

There is now speculation that this may take place as soon as Tuesday.

Journalist Norma Costello said when Smith returns will depend on how long it takes Turkish security forces to question her.

She said that Turkey can be "a bit of wild car in terms of diplomacy" and highlighted the fact that Smith is in a sovereign state that Ireland has no jurisdiction over.

Ms. Costello said: "It doesn't matter what plans are laid in Dublin, Ankara could choose to change that in a minute."

Ms. Costello, who has been extensively covering Smith's story in the Middle East, said that the likelihood that she will be arrested upon her return is "high", but whether charges will be successfully brought is not as clear.

She said the issue was a "political football" and it would be damaging for a politician to sign-off on Smith's repatriation only for the prosecution against her to fail.

"There's an awful lot of impetus to get Lisa home, get her arrested and then try and get a charge against her," she said.

The freelance journalist said that people in Smith's hometown of Dundalk were "furious and scared".

Ms. Costello also said she has been approached by the government for access to the information she has gathered on Smith.

I was asked to testify against Smith and I refused. Journalists are not security sources. Gathering intelligence is not my job, it is the job or our defunct security apparatus. To say I'm angry is an understatement.https://t.co/AgcVemQnK9

— Norma Costello (@normcos) November 13, 2019

However, she said she would not be used as a "security source".

"I'm a journalist...I'm not going to testify against her because that's not my responsibility," she said.