The Tánaiste and Minister for Defence has said he is open to Irish troops being sent on peacekeeping missions to Ukraine, but only when there is a peace in the region.
Simon Harris said Defence Forces members would not be sent to an active warzone, but if a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia was struck, an Irish peacekeeping mission could be considered.
He said as part of Europe, Ireland has an obligation to assist in peacekeeping on the continent should the situation arise.
Speaking in the Dáil he said: "The deployment of any troops to Ukraine would have to be in the context of a peace agreement.
"We are not talking about sending our troops to a warzone or a place where there is an active war. It would only be in the context of a peace agreement.
"I do not believe we should recuse ourselves from that conversation. Our peacekeepers serve with absolute distinction.
"I am open to considering their being sent on a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine, if there was peace.
"However, all the talk about peace is happening while (Vladimir) Putin continues his reign of terror."
Mr Harris said the issue of sending Irish peacekeepers to Ukraine was "beyond an abstract conversation at the moment" as there is "no indication at all that Putin wishes to see anything like peace".
"He (Putin) continues to invade EU airspace in terms of the drones in Romania and Poland, and indeed continue to terrorise the civilian population.
"However, if we get to a moment where there is a peace agreement that requires peacekeepers, why would we not consider at that moment deploying the troops?
Mr Harris was responding to a question from People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy.
