The Government is due to decide tomorrow to send 400 Irish soldiers to Liberia as part of a new UN peace mission to the deeply troubled west African state.
It is understood that a Department of Defence memorandum is in preparation and will be ready for approval by the Cabinet at its forthcoming meeting.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, travels to New York today and will address the UN General Assembly on Thursday.
In the likely event of a Government decision to send peacekeepers to Liberia, he is expected to win strong approbation from UN delegates for Ireland's stand.
The UN Security Council has agreed by unanimous vote to send a 15,000-strong force to Liberia and Ireland will be part of that operation.
Resolution 1509 set up UNMIL (UN Mission in Liberia) for a 12-month period initially.
The force, which will include 250 military observers and 1,000 police, is to enforce a ceasefire between government forces and two rebel factions.
UNMIL will also be charged with supervising the demobilisation and disarmament of the rebels and protect UN personnel and civilians from threats of violence.
The UN will take over from the existing west African peace force on October 1st.
This 3,250-strong body helped to stabilise the capital, Monrovia, but fighting persists in the countryside.
Fourteen years of war in Liberia came to an end during the summer. When government forces and rebels concluded a peace agreement the former Liberian president, Mr Charles Taylor, left for exile in Nigeria.
The UN recently increased its target-figure for humanitarian aid to Liberia from US $69 million to $100 million.
This is equivalent to the amount Mr Taylor is alleged to have looted from the country during his last four years in power.
Earlier this month, a 260-strong force of Irish soldiers left for Kosovo to join the NATO-led peacekeeping force there.
They took over from a force of 80 troops who had ended their tour of duty.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, arrived in New York yesterday where he will also be attending the General Assembly.
This morning, he will finally hold a bilateral meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Mr Silvan Shalom.
In line with European Union policy, Mr Cowen insisted on meeting the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, during a tour of the Middle East last June and, as a result, Israeli representative refused to meet him at that time.
Mr Cowen will also hold meetings today with the foreign ministers of Russia, Egypt and Iran. The Minister's schedule of meetings is fuller than normal because of Ireland's assumption of the European presidency at the beginning of the New Year.
