LAST UPDATE | 18 Feb

TÁNAISTE SIMON HARRIS has said the government is “not at the point yet” of deciding whether Irish peacekeepers will have a role in Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters on the way into the Cabinet meeting this morning, Harris responded to a question about Irish troops potentially being deployed as peacekeepers in Ukraine. 

“We’re not at that moment yet,” Harris said. 

“Our Defence Forces have a very proud tradition of playing majorly important peacekeeping roles in very troubled and challenging parts of the globe,” the Minister for Defence said. 

“What we should be very conscious of is, while lots of people are talking about wanting to bring peace to Ukraine, we’re still seeing Putin engage in acts of aggression and acts of sabotage on a daily basis on Ukraine, Ukrainian people and Ukrainian infrastructure,” he stressed. 

“So the most important thing right now is to stop the war, but to stop the war in a way that is consistent with the UN Charter, with the territorial independence of Ukraine.” 

Irish peacekeepers

The Journal reported last year that there could be a possibility of Irish troops being deployed on peacekeeping missions to the Balkan region or even to Ukraine should a peace deal with Russia emerge.

At the end of last year there was speculation among defence and diplomatic sources that if any peace deal in Ukraine were to emerge it may need a force to act as peacekeepers and take up positions along the frontlines in the east of the country. 

It is unlikely to be a NATO force to achieve that due to tensions between Russia and the alliance but those sources believe that an EU force may be palatable to both sides.

Irish Defence Forces Comdt Liam McDonnell told The Journal that there are two regions of operations that Irish troops will probably be deployed into. The Middle East, so as to support operations in Lebanon. 

“And within Europe, you’re looking at either the Balkans or recently now you could be looking at a deployment to Ukraine. However, that is not a soldier decision. It’s not a military decision, it’s a political decision,” he said.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said this week that he was willing to put “our own troops on the ground if necessary” in response to what he called “a once-in-a-generation moment for the collective security of our continent”.

People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett said he supports peacekeeping deployments that are ”genuine peacekeeping missions”, but added that he has genuine concerns peacekeeping morphing into “peace enforcement”, stating that “there is a big big difference”. 

€50m in non-lethal military support 

The Tánaiste’s comments on Irish peacekeepers comes as government is to provide Ukraine with an additional €50m in non-lethal military support next month. 

The state will do this outside of the EU’s European Peace Facility mechanism, which has been hamstrung due to obstruction by Hungary.

Harris briefed Cabinet this morning about Ireland’s ongoing support for Ukraine during its full-scale invasion by Russia, the three-year anniversary of which falls next Monday. 

The unilateral move to provide the €50 million worth of support comes as Ireland has struggled to fulfil commitments to provide €250 million in support to Ukraine under the EU-wide mechanism, while the Ukraine Assistance Fund remains blocked at EU level by Hungary.

To date, Ireland has paid €130m in support for Ukraine since the war began.  

The Tánaiste told Cabinet that he believes Ireland needs to issue a strong statement of solidarity with Ukraine ahead of the anniversary of the full-scale invasion. 

The move by Ireland to provide more aid outside of the EU mechanism comes in the wake of speeches by US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth in Europe last week, which shocked many EU leaders who support Ukraine. 

Hegseth said that the US could no longer guarantee European security and also ruled out Ukraine joining Nato. The US comments have left EU leaders scrambling, with French President Emmanuel Macron hastily convening a meeting of fellow leaders yesterday. 

US President Donald Trump held a “lengthy and highly productive” phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Wednesday, and US officials are due to meet Russian counterparts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, today. 

European leaders have expressed concerns that Ukraine may be frozen out of negotiations on how to end the war. 

Meanwhile, Harris will travel to South Africa later this week to attend a meeting of the G20, where Ireland will be a guest country at the forum for the first time. 

The G20 is an international economic forum that includes 19 individual nations, as well as the European Union and the African Union. 

Want to know more about what’s happening in Ukraine and why? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to finding good information online.

With reporting by Christina Finn