The Minister for Defence has played down the prospects of Ireland contributing troops to the EU's new battle groups.
Willie O'Dea told the Dáil this afternoon that if joining required Ireland to drop the so-called triple lock he would not be prepared to do so.
Under the triple lock, the commitment of troops requires the approval of the Government and the Dáil, as well as a UN mandate.
Mr O'Dea also stressed that the Rapid Reaction Force, or battle group, concept was only one part of peace-keeping, and that Irish involvement in ordinary UN operations could continue.
He said the greatest problem was whether the UN could reform its procedures to allow for quicker decisions by the UNSC.
Fine Gael's Billy Timmons said it was time for Ireland to make its own decisions, and that by tying ourselves to a UNSC decision, we were subjecting our foreign policy to the US, Russia, China, Britain and France.
