Senior Army officers have recommended that Irish soldiers should join the UN peacekeeping force in Afghanistan.
Three officers who visited the UN's ISAF battalion in the Afghan capital, Kabul, earlier this month, yesterday presented their findings to the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue.
They proposed a 30-strong force, which would join the British led mission.
The Minister is expected to present their recommendations to Cabinet at the next opportunity - although, with the shape of the next government still in question it may be some time before the matter is discussed.
A Defence Forces spokesman said Mr O'Donoghue would discuss the issue with Army chiefs over coming weeks.
The Government has already agreed in principle to send troops to the war-ravaged state.
The Minister dispatched the three, led by a corporal attached to Defence Forces headquarters, after Opposition deputies asked him in the Dáil if he would consider sanctioning a peacekeeping mission to Afghanistan.
They travelled to Kabul in early May and witnessed first hand the activities of the ISAF mission.
The three have now recommended that 30 Irish soldiers should be deployed. The troops are expected to provide training, liaison and support services. Contrary to expectations, no bomb disposal experts are needed. Volunteers are already being sought.
An Army spokesman said it was too early to predict when soldiers would be dispatched.
The multinational ISAF force was established late last year in the wake of the US attack on terrorists in Afghanistan.