Army Reserve forces will be able to serve in operations overseas, as part of a major restructuring plan to be announced by the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, on Monday.
Described as the greatest reorganisation in the service's history, provision has been made for over 2,600 reserve soldiers to be integrated into the full Defence Forces.
Confirming that these soldiers could be involved in operations in war-torn areas such as Kosovo or Bosnia as part of a UN force, a Defence Forces spokesman said: "Reserve soldiers will be integrated into the Permanent Defence Forces (PDF) at times when they are required.
"They will, if needed, form a part of an Irish force on duty overseas. However, no reserve soldier will go anywhere until they have received proper training and have given their consent."
An important caveat in relation to this change in the current rules is that a reserve soldier must volunteer to be included in any force heading abroad.
The plan is to be announced as part of a presentation at Kickham Barracks, Clonmel, on Monday afternoon at which it will be announced that the total of Irish forces will fall from approximately 14,000 to just under 12,000.
The Defence Forces were last night keen to stress that the number change was not a downsizing but merely an amalgamation process of existing battalions.
A spokesman said: "Although the figures on paper appear to suggest a reduction, often a considerable number of the forces don't show up. In essence, the numbers on the ground won't be affected."
Under the plan, a number of Army Reserve (formerly FCA) barracks will close and units will be amalgamated throughout the country. It has also emerged that the 18 existing infantry units will now be reduced to nine, and the existing 30 corps units to 18.
The planned reforms follow changes to the PDF under the 2000 White Paper. Under the stipulations of the paper, the number of troops was reduced by more than 1,000.
The Department for Defence said last night that the moving up of reserve forces to permanent ranks was a means of compensating for weaknesses left in the structure of the force by the 2000 downsizing.
A departmental spokesman told The Irish Times: "It's true that the force is somewhat stretched, and the change in status of the reserves will help to fill the holes left by the previous number losses."
It was also confirmed that the restructuring will take place under existing budgetary guidelines, but that the matter will be revised at a later date.
The main purpose of the reorganisation plan is to reflect the will for the Reserve Army to resemble and follow the changes in the main Army forces.
According to a statement, "The plan outlines also the renaming of Reserve units and reorganisation into a brigade format which will mirror the Permanent Forces' three-brigade structure."