Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the EU may have to do more in terms of its own defence in years to come, if the US becomes more isolationist.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Mr Varadkar said: "I don't know what the outcome of the next US presidential election is going to be, and whoever is in the White House, we will try to work with the President.
"But thinking more long term, we have to be wise to the possibility that next year, in five year's time, or maybe in nine years time, the US will have an administration that is more isolationist, and less willing to be committed to the Euro-Atlantic partnership.
"And that's why it is important that the European Union does more when it comes to its own defence."
Mr Varadkar said Ireland had been a founding member of PESCO, the EU’s structured cooperation on military capabilities, but he was also making the strong case in Munich that "we have to not see security as just being a matter of defence and military. It's about so much more than that. The reasons for conflict in the world relate to a lack of economic opportunity, institutions that don't work, no democracy, violations of human rights, climate change.
"And there's no amount of guns or warships that can solve those problems."
He told reporters that Ireland would be willing to play any role in any future peace process on Ukraine.
However, he said: "I do need to be very clear: should there be any peace process in relation to Ukraine we have to be guided by President Zelensky and the Ukrainian government as to how and when that should take place.
"We should never forget that this is a conflict in which Ukraine was attacked, and Ukraine has been partially occupied by Russia. So any ceasefire, any peace process, has to be guided by their wishes."
Taoiseach rejects suggestions of free-loading
Earlier, during a panel discussion on neutrality, the Taoiseach rejected suggestions put forward by members of the audience that as a neutral country Ireland was free-loading on European security.
"We would reject the suggestion that we're in any way a free rider," he told the panel.
Mr Varadkar was speaking at the Munich Security Council 2024 during a side panel event on neutrality.
Mr Varadkar was challenged that Ireland was, in reality, reliant on the UK's armed forces in the protection of the seas and the protection of undersea cables.
He responded: "In relation to protecting our seas, we have our own navy, it's not as strong as it needs to be, and we've entered into agreements with Pesco and NATO's Partnership for Peace which particularly relate to the cables that are around the island which are important to us, and also important to our neighbours.
"I'm not aware of any particular UK intervention that's helped us in that regard."
Mr Varadkar was further challenged that it "falls to the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy in practice".
The Taoiseach responded: "When has that actually occurred? When has there been an action or operation by the air force or the navy that has helped us?"
It was put to him that "everyone knows that in the case of a threat to those installations, that is the source of security which would be reverted to, just as is the case quite often in the instance of maritime safety, safety of people in difficulty and so on - and indeed the feeding of the 26 counties during the Second World War was guaranteed by the Royal Navy covering the convoys.
"I don't think what I'm saying is in any way controversial."
Mr Varadkar responded saying: "You're saying in a hypothetical scenario this intervention by the Royal Navy or Royal Air Force may occur, to the best of my knowledge it has never occurred, and you're suggesting that the Royal Navy or Royal Air Force would intervene in our territorial waters without our permission?"
It was put to him that the UK would likely intervene if there was a Russian incursion which also threatened the security of the UK.
Mr Varadkar responded: "That's exactly the point, they would be doing it to protect themselves, not us."
Last night, the Taoiseach also queried an assertion around the size of the Russian embassy in Ireland being connected with the proximity to UK territory in Northern Ireland.
Mr Varadkar said there are 15 diplomats and 15 other staff at the Russian Embassy in Dublin, which he described as "big for a small country like Ireland but far from huge".
