Tánaiste Simon Harris has said that Ireland's defence budget should reach the highest level possible of around €3 billion in the years ahead.
The Minister for Defence said that when the Programme for Government was agreed recently a "significant decision" was made to get to Level of Ambition 2, which commits to increasing defence spending to €1.5bn.
"But we also said that we want to go beyond that [and] head towards Level of Three Ambition and I think that's where we need to get to," he added.
He said the world is" very uncertain" and he said Ireland does have "obligations to our own people and indeed to the wider world in terms of security issues".
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"And what I mean by that is we have very significant sea around this island. Indeed, the sea space that we have is a lot larger than the land space that we have, and we clearly need to invest more in the capabilities of our Defence Forces, crucially, in the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann, and we want to see those numbers grow, but we also need to see things like radar, sonar equipment and infrastructure procured," he said.
"So since taking up office, I've instructed my officials to a prepare for larger defence budgets in the years ahead, but secondly, to also look at how we can procure equipment and infrastructure to improve the Defence Forces capabilities in a much more speedy manner," Mr Harris said.
"So, it's for government to decide, during our annual budget cycle exactly how much money to allocate to any department, to any agency, and, of course, to the Defence Forces as well and I fully understand that.
"But we've already committed to getting to €1.5 billion by 2028. If we want to reach the level of ambition three, it will require going well beyond that, but that will be a matter for Government to consider," he added.
"But what I am saying very clearly is, I do believe we now need to state publicly, as our Programme for Government does, that reaching level of ambition three is where we need to get to in the years ahead," Mr Harris said.
Level of Ambition 3, as defined by the Commission on the Defence Forces in 2022, would bring the annual investment in defence to €3bn.
It comes as new figures obtained by RTÉ News show that Defence Forces' numbers grew for the first time in seven years last year.
The strength of the force now stands at around 7,500 members across the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps, the data shows.
In 2024, 708 personnel were inducted, which is more than a 70% increase when compared with the previous year.
However, only 5% of those inducted into the Defence Forces in 2024 were women.
The figures come at a time when Europe, including Ireland, is under increasing pressure to boost defence spending and strengthen armies.
The Taoiseach said this week that Ireland could provide peacekeepers to Ukraine if it was required under a UN-mandated ceasefire agreement.
However, the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO) has indicated that, while currently a hypothetical situation, Ireland's Defence Forces does not have enough numbers to carry out such a mission.
Read More: As world watches Ukraine, Ireland grapples with defence plans
RACO President Comdt Martin Ryan said that he believes such a large scale deployment is 'highly unlikely’ given the current strength of the Defence Forces, along with its ongoing tasks and commitments.
"This is why recruitment and retention initiatives that RACO have been advocating for the past number of years are as important now as they ever were in stabilising and growing the Defence Forces" he said.
"So, that decisions on such deployments in the future you would hope that the Minister and Tánaiste wouldn’t have to concern himself with, 'if the Defence Forces would be able for it' but rather 'we have a strong Defence Forces and we can deploy'," he added.
The Government has said that 2025's spending on defence is a record €1.35 billion and a further increase is planned for next year.
According to the Department of Defence, this year's funding provides for the recruitment of net 400 additional Defence Forces members as well as facilitating significant progress on important defence projects, including military radar, subsea awareness, force protection equipment and Defence Forces infrastructure.
The force lost roughly a fifth of its personnel between 2022 and 2024.
The Public Accounts Committee was told last May that 1,646 staff left the service during that time.
