The Government will charter a flight from Oman in the coming days for Irish people to return from the Middle East, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has said.
The flight will accommodate 280 people.
The most vulnerable people are being identified among 2,000 people who have contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs crisis management centre and who requested help leaving the Middle East.
Speaking on RTÉ's Six One, Minister McEntee said she hoped the flight would be the "first of many" to transport Irish citizens from the region.
People who are chosen to travel on the chartered flight will be transported to Oman by bus, the minister confirmed.
Ms McEntee said she could not confirm when the flight would take place, but said that her department would be contacting people.
The minister said the flight will depart on the basis that airspace is open and it is safe to do so.
Watch: McEntee confirms Govt to charter flight for Irish citizens in Middle East
She said some 24,000 Irish people in the Middle East had registered with the department in recent days.
"We're looking at one of the largest planes that we can and that's probably up to about 280 people," Ms McEntee said.
"So I appreciate when you talk about the thousands who are there, that is a fraction of the number of people that may want to get home at the same time."
In a statement, Minister McEntee said the first chartered flight will be targeted at Irish citizens in the UAE, particularly those who are non-resident, who are vulnerable and require assistance most urgently.
"We will continue to offer consular assistance to all citizens in the region. All citizens should register with the appropriate embassy if they have not already done so and continue to follow our embassy social media accounts for the latest updates," Ms McEntee said.
'Shelter in place'
Earlier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that the advice for Irish people in the Middle East "is very clear, to shelter in place, to register with the relevant embassy... so there can be clear communication between embassies and Irish citizens".
More than 50 flights have so far been cancelled to and from Dublin Airport alone, since Saturday morning.
Dublin Airport confirmed yesterday that all flights to and from the Middle East today are cancelled.
Irish soldiers in Lebanon accounted for and safe
On the issue of Irish soldiers serving in southern Lebanon, Ms McEntee said all are accounted for and safe.
"If there needs to be an evacuation, obviously that's something that needs to be considered," she said.
The minister said she has engaged with the chief of the Defence Forces on a regular basis and this would be a decision that needs to be taken by the Defence Forces based on what is safe.
She said the troops are still operating on the ground and carrying out the duty that they are all there to do.
Helen McEntee said her priority and focus is how the situation in the Middle East can be de-escalated.
"It's very clear that this is the last thing that anybody in the region wanted.
"And so our focus as a Government will be to try and do everything that we can ... not just with European colleagues but with the US as well to try and pull this back and to try and look towards peaceful solutions."
US actions 'should be unequivocally condemned by Govt'
The move to charter a flight for Irish citizens came after the Dáil heard condemnation of US actions in Iran.
Mary Lou McDonald said the US's actions in the region are in defiance of international law and should be unequivocally condemned by the Government.
The Sinn Féin leader said the brutality of one state does not license another one to engage illegally in military aggression.
She said the Government's response here undermines Ireland's neutrality and it amounts to a dangerous defence of the US.
The Taoiseach said he believes in a multilateral rules-based order and he wants the conflict de-escalated.
But Mr Martin said the UN has been unable to intervene when it comes to malign influences like Iran.
He said that Iran had sponsored terror in the region for years and it has brutally oppressed and killed thousands of its own people.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns called on the Government to condemn the US and Israel's "clear breach of military law".
She said "no lessons have been learned" from the Iraq war.
In response, Mr Martin said international law has not been adhered to and has not been "for quite some time by many, many actors".
"I would condemn the killing of children anywhere, in any situation," he said.
Labour TD Duncan Smith said there needs to be a plan in place for the 20,000 Irish citizens in the Middle East.
"People are contacting us at increasing numbers, wondering, how are we going to get home," he said.
