THE Republic's minister for foreign affairs has said the possible infiltration of Islamic State members to Ireland is of "great concern".
Speaking at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels yesterday, Charlie Flanagan also said he would like to see increased security cooperation, intelligence gathering and counter terrorism work among EU members.
Tunisian prime minister Habbib Essid also attended the meeting in the wake of a attack in the country which killed 38 tourists, including three Irish citizens.
Mr Flanagan said the Irish government wanted to work with Tunisia to address the terrorist threat.
"We want to support the democratic structures in Tunisia which the fundamentalist terrorists are seeking to fatally undermine," he said.
"Tunisian Prime Minister Essid and Foreign Minister Baccouche joined ministers for part of today's meeting.
"I was pleased to have the opportunity to meet both and to thank them directly for the assistance which Tunisian authorities provided to us in the aftermath of the appalling attack at Sousse.
"I assured them that Ireland and our EU colleagues want to work with Tunisia to help the government to overcome the serious challenges it faces."
The council also discussed the outcome of successful nuclear talks between Iran and other world powers, which were chaired by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, and discussions on the Middle East peace process.
Mr Flanagan said the Republic had long campaigned against the spread of nuclear weapons.
"The agreement reached in Vienna offers firm assurances and guarantees about the nature of Iran’s nuclear programme and removes a serious source of tension and instability in the region," he said.
"I also welcome the further discussions we had on the Middle East peace process today. There was a clear commitment to the two-state solution."
