Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern has told reporters the total contribution of EU countries to the UN peace force in Lebanon could reach 9,000.
Mr Ahern was speaking after an emergency meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels.
Mr Ahern described the meeting as 'very useful' and said it would help smaller countries like Ireland to decide on whether they would send troops
He told RTÉ News that Ireland would not be sending soldiers until the second or third phase of the deployment.
He said that any deployment of Irish troops would have to be approved by the Government and the Oireachtas.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who attended the meeting, told a news briefing that more than half the force had been pledged.
He said he had asked France to keep leading the UN force in Lebanon until February 2007 and that Italy should then take over the command.
Mr Annan said he hopes the force will be deployed within days, rather than weeks.
Major General Alain Pellegrini, from France, is currently in command of UNIFIL, and is thought likely to retain his position.
He has acknowledged that the force had previously failed to secure peace because it lacked a strong enough mandate and manpower.
Ealier, Spain had offered to provide 1,000 to 1,200 troops for the force, while French President Jacques Chirac last night said France would provide up to 2,000 troops.
The ceasefire in Lebanon has been holding, but is still regarded as fragile.
The UN resolution, passed on 11 August, aims to expand UNIFIL, originally set up 28 years ago, from its current 2,000-strong force to up to 15,000 soldiers.
The UN peacekeeping force will seek to police the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that ended 34 days of violence.
