The deployment of 150 Irish troops to Lebanon as part of the United Nations interim force in the region (Unifil) has been announced by Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea, writes Conor Lally.
The Irish contingent will provide security for 250 Finnish soldiers who are travelling to Lebanon to help rebuild parts of the country damaged by Israel's bombardment during its 34-day offensive against Hizbullah.
Mr O'Dea said while the deployment needed the approval of the Cabinet and Dáil, he was confident the troops would be in place by the mid-November timeframe already agreed with the Finns.
"The safety and security of Irish troops is of paramount importance to me so the military authorities' advice in this regard is vital in terms of a final decision to deploy to the region.
"The mission envisaged for our troops will be an extremely important and worthwhile one for Lebanon and its people."
He was speaking at Cathal Brugha barracks, Dublin, where he was reviewing the 33rd infantry group which is preparing to leave for a UN peacekeeping tour of duty in Kosovo.
The Irish contingent will travel to Lebanon with at least six armoured personnel carriers (APCs).
The Government is currently in talks with the Finnish authorities to discuss details of the mission.
While the full deployment will not be in place until mid- November, a group of 10 Irish soldiers from Defence Forces headquarters, Dublin, will leave for Lebanon on Monday.
They will receive a range of briefings from Unifil officials on the ground regarding the security situation in the country and Ireland's possible role in the mission in the short to medium term.
The reconnaissance trip will also be used to select a location to where the Irish and Finnish troops will be deployed.
The deployment will bring to 830 the number of Irish troops overseas.This is just 20 short of the maximum permitted on such missions at any one time.
The joint Irish and Finnish proposal has yet to be approved by the UN. However this was described as just a formality by one source last night.
A Unifil force of 15,000 has been sanctioned by the UN Security Council.
Currently there are 3,745 Unifil troops on the ground from 10 countries.
France and Italy have assumed a lead role, with both sending two battalions each. A battalion from Spain comprising 650 troops is to begin arriving today.
The European Parliament's budget committee last week agreed a €50 million aid package for Lebanon.