Members of the Defence Forces could soon be serving alongside British soldiers with the NATO-led Kfor peace-enforcement mission in Kosovo.
A transport unit of about 100 soldiers is expected to travel to Kosovo in late summer to help transport food and provisions to Kosovar Albanian refugees returning to their devastated province.
Preparations for this role are already under way, although a final decision to set up the unit depends on assent from the Dail.
If the unit is sent, it will consist of a company of transport soldiers with a security element, probably of Ranger Wing members, led by an Army commandant.
It is likely to be similar to the unit sent to Somalia in 1992 to serve with the UN force there.
Kfor is led by Lieut Gen Sir Michael Jackson. He had extensive service in Northern Ireland and was on duty as adjutant to Col Derek Wilford on Bloody Sunday, January 30th, 1972, when 14 people were shot dead by members of his regiment, the 1st Paratroops.
It is not known if he will be called as a witness in the inquiry into events on that day.
Should the Defence Forces participate in the Kosovo mission this year, the transport unit could be upgraded to a full battalionsized contingent within two years, similar to the battalion force in Lebanon.
A battalion in Kosovo would have to have considerable armed protection, which would require the completion of the contract to supply the Defence Forces with the 40 armoured personnel carriers, which is under consideration.
Although its role has not yet been finalised, it is believed the initial transport unit will be working with the British army-led brigade based in the Kosovo capital of Pristina. The unit in Somalia served with an Indian regiment.
Senior Army sources are confident the unit will fulfil an important humanitarian function in Kosovo. In Somalia, it kept up a consistent supply route of food and provisions from the coastal port of Mogadishu to the interior region which was devastated by famine and conflict in the previous two years.
A transport unit for Kosovo is likely to consist of about 20 of the same type of 4x4 diesel Mann trucks and trailers for use on poor roads and rough terrain along with accompanying all-terrain support and command vehicles and some articulated lorries for work on better roads.
Following Dail assent, the Defence Forces will seek volunteers for the Kosovo mission, which is likely to entail six months of service before replacements for a second unit are sent out.
Training and preparations could begin within weeks at the Defence Forces training centre at the Curragh.
The Defence Forces have already been serving with the Kfor peace-enforcement mission in Bosnia, with a unit of military police in place in Sarajevo since the end of the civil war.