Tánaiste Simon Harris will bring draft legislation to Cabinet on Tuesday to modify the triple lock on Irish troop deployment and remove the need for UN Security Council approval for peacekeeping missions abroad.
A proposal to provide €100 million worth of non-lethal aid to Ukraine in the wake of the United States' retreat from the conflict will also be discussed.
“The idea of the UN Security Council having a veto on where we deploy Irish troops in relation to peacekeeping is something that needs to be modified,” he said on Sunday afternoon.
“We cannot have a situation where any one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Russia or anybody else – can veto that decision, we need to be empowered to do that.”
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The proposed changes also include increasing from 12 to 50 the number of troops that can be sent on overseas missions without prior approval, he told RTÉ‘s This Week programme.
The legislation will also provide “legal clarity” concerning the evacuation of Irish citizens from hostile areas, allowing it to be done in a more flexible and efficient way, he said.
Any future changes to the triple lock have drawn criticism from the opposition in the past, and this remained the case ahead with the latest proposals.
Labour’s foreign affairs spokesman Duncan Smith said the triple lock had served Ireland well and accused the Government of being “intent on eroding this key safeguard of our neutrality”.
“Labour has consistently said that any veto over Ireland’s foreign policy, whether from Russia, China, or a future Trump-led America, is concerning. However, simply scrapping the Triple Lock without a full public and political debate is not the answer.
[ Proposals to change triple lock potentially ‘very dangerous’ – Sinn FéinOpens in new window ]
The separate proposal to provide €100 million in assistance to Ukraine will be brought to Cabinet on Tuesday, amid a “gulf” emerging between the US and the EU, Mr Harris said.
The proposed package will see the funds used for non-lethal military aid such as armoured vehicles and demining equipment.
The Tánaiste, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, described his reaction to scenes at the White House on Friday, in which Mr Trump criticised and clashed with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as one of “deep unease”.
“The White House has always been a place I think we can look to with a great sense of assurance and I think the situation president Zelenskiy encountered was deeply unsettling,” he said.
Mr Harris said a “gulf has emerged” between the US and the EU on the issue of Ukraine, describing the scenes at the Oval Office as a “tangible” example.
Later this week, the EU will decide on a package of support for Ukraine, the figure of which is not decided, though Ireland will be paying a “little over 2 per cent” of the total package, he said, meaning a package of €20 billion would see Ireland paying about €400 million.
[ Watch: Trump and Vance criticise Zelenskiy during heated Oval Office exchangeOpens in new window ]
“Whatever the cost is, the cost of not paying it is much more significant in terms of the security of the European Union,” he said.
Mr Harris said Government Ministers will be using the upcoming visits to the US to “speak up and speak out in terms of our values”.
Asked if he believes Taoiseach Micheál Martin will raise with Mr Trump his actions at the White House on Friday when he meets him to mark St Patrick’s Day, Mr Harris said: “It’s not for me to tell any colleague exactly what to say, and the Taoiseach will know exactly what to do.”
[ Taoiseach signals possible end to rent pressure zones by end of yearOpens in new window ]
“I think people are rightly extraordinarily unsettled and upset by what they have seen in recent days and I share that,” he said.
The Tánaiste said he would have no difficulty with Mr Trump visiting Ireland, adding that it is “better to engage with people where you have points of differentiation rather than taking yourself off the pitch.”
Meanwhile, asked about potential changes to rent pressure zones (RPZs) as signalled by the Taoiseach last month, Mr Harris said: “What I don’t want to do at the moment is inject any insecurity or instability in a renter’s life when renters are already paying extraordinarily high rents and I know that’s a view shared across Government.”
He said it would take a “hell of a lot” to convince him of the merits of changes to RPZs.
