Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris will bring a proposal to Cabinet next month to amend Ireland's 'triple lock’ on the deployment of Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas.
Under the current system, Ireland cannot deploy any more than 12 Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas without a peacekeeping mission being approved by a vote of the UN Security Council as well as approval by the Government and the Dáil.
The Defence (Amendment) Bill will set out a proposal to remove the veto held by the permanent members of the UN Security Council over the deployment of Irish peacekeepers abroad in circumstances where there has been a Government decision and a vote of the Dáil in favour of such a move.
Government ministers have criticised the effectiveness of the triple lock as it allows UN Security Council members like Russia to veto deployment.
However, any move to amend the triple lock will be resisted by many of the opposition parties who have said it would dilute Ireland's policy of neutrality.
Watch: What is Ireland's Triple Lock mechanism
Mr Harris said: "By making the changes proposed, we would be removing the veto power of Security Council members over Ireland’s international engagement, while safeguarding the essential link with international law and good governance.
"Such a change would permit us to continue Ireland’s peacekeeping record, of which we are so justifiably proud.
‘I want to be clear that in bringing forward these proposals I have no desire to alter Ireland’s policy of military neutrality. What we are proposing would remain fully consistent with the principles of the UN Charter and international law.
"This will do nothing to change Ireland’s traditional position of military neutrality, which is characterised by Ireland's non-participation in any military alliance," he added.
The bill will be scrutinised by the new Oireachtas Committee on Defence.
Proposal a 'kneejerk reaction'
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin's Matt Carthy said that a proposal to amend Ireland’s 'triple lock’ is a "kneejerk reaction".
Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics, the TD for Cavan-Monaghan said: "This is a potentially very dangerous position that would result in Irish soldiers participating, potentially in foreign conflicts without a UN mandate."
Deputy Carthy said that there needs to be investment into the Defence Forces, including radar and sonar technologies.
"The triple lock is a neutrality protection that was put in place and reinforced as a result of previous decisions by the Irish electorate to reject EU treaties on the basis that there was a public fear that we could end up getting embroiled in conflicts."
He added that the Government has already "stretched neutrality to the upper limits".
However, Fine Gael TD for Galway West Hildegarde Naughton said that the proposal is "fully aligned with the UN charter".
Speaking on the same programme, Deputy Naughton said that it would not infringe on Ireland’s neutrality.
"What has been proposed here will be before the Oireachtas committee, there will be consideration, deliberations around this," she said.
"In this new landscape we are facing internationally, there is a veto at the United Nations Security Council, which basically ties our hands as a country who is known right across the globe for peacekeeping.
"We need to be able to deal and adapt in relation to this, and whatever proposal would come forward would be passed by the Dáil."
Labour TD for Dublin Central Marie Sherlock said that while the Government has identified a problem regarding the 'triple lock', she is "utterly unclear" on its proposed solution.
Deputy Sherlock said that Ireland should be part of a UN mandate, and "not any other mandate".
"The reality here is that by getting rid of the triple lock, Ireland is potentially leaving itself open to joining onto a NATO mission, or indeed an EU mission in the future," she said.
She said that her party does not want to see a change to the ‘triple lock'.
