Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Thomas Byrne has said the Government will not change its commitments on defence spending, following comments from international bodies about a lack of defence funding.
The Chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee called on Ireland to increase its defence spending to ensure the protection of undersea cables.
US Senator Jim Risch, who is the head of the powerful group charged with leading US foreign policy legislation, said Ireland's "strategic position" comes with "significant responsibility".
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill also said Ireland should increase its spending on the protection of undersea cables, telling RTÉ News that the spend should be doubled.
Minister Byrne said that while Ireland has not had sufficient resources in the Defence Forces, the Government was committed to increased spenditure.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said the additional Government expenditure in this area would provide for more recruitment, adding that the Defence Forces needs to be more modern and have better working conditions.
He said there would be oversight throughout the process in the Dáil.
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"What you're going to see is a significant transformation of the Defence Forces of this country, and that's going to continue," he said.
"This is going to be a major feature of Ireland's presidency of the EU Council next year; the whole area of security.
"We will obviously be doing our own thing, but in that chair, we will also be coordinating what the governments are saying around Europe on many issues, and this is going to be one of the big issues at that time."
'No peace to keep'
Minister Byrne said that at the moment, Ireland would not send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine because it is a warzone and there is no peace to keep.
Hypothetically, if there were peace, we could consider sending troops," he said, adding that Ireland did not have plans at present.
He said Europe will hold talks in response to the United States holding talks with Russia, but all that is happening with Ireland at the moment is "consistent with Ireland's neutrality".
The minister said Ireland would not allow the Security Council to have a veto on any proposals involving Irish peacekeepers, rather than following the UN Charter principles.
He added that the US was an "important part" of the puzzle in ending the war in Ukraine.
