Irish involvement in EU mission to train Ukrainian forces extended for two years

The involvement of Irish soldiers in training Ukrainian forces can continue over the next two years after the Cabinet approved extending the participation of the Defence Forces in a European Union mission.

The decision comes after the Council of the European Union extended the mission until mid-November 2028 and as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is due in Dublin along with around 50 other leaders to attend this week’s meeting of the European Political Community (EPC).

The Defence Forces has been involved in training members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) under the umbrella of the EU Military Assistance Mission Ukraine (Eumam).

This is an EU common security and defence policy mission which co-ordinates military training provided to Ukraine by member states to help it fight the Russian invasion.

The training mostly takes place in Germany and Poland, with up to 30 Irish troops previously earmarked as instructors.

Minister for Defence Helen McEntee got Government approval on Tuesday for the participation of no more than 30 Defence Forces personnel in the mission for another two years, up to November 15th 2028.

A Government spokesman said the training covers areas like tactical combat training, casualty care, combat life-saving, demining, drill instruction training and basic training.

He said Defence Forces personnel have delivered 24 training modules to approximately 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers since 2023.

The spokesman said that as the mission relates to training activities, it “does not engage the requirements applicable to overseas deployments for peace support operations that require a UN mandate”.

That means the triple lock mechanism for overseas deployments – which the Government is seeking to scrap – does not apply to the mission.

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In the Dáil, Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers claimed the removal of the triple lock is a “reassertion of our neutrality” as Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald described the move as “a profound betrayal” of commitments to the public.

During testy exchanges over the Bill to remove the requirement for a United Nations mandate for Defence Forces missions abroad, McDonald highlighted the presence in Dublin this week of Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.

She said Europe’s direction of travel is clear, “greater militarisation, deeper defence integration, and even closer alignment with Nato”.

The Dublin Central TD said Rutte’s attendance at the EPC meeting on Thursday further “underlines the increasingly militarised political environment taking shape across Europe”.

The Sinn Féin leader said the Government’s position “flies in the face of commitments made to the Irish people during the Nice and Lisbon referendum campaigns”.

Explicit guarantees were secured and the triple lock “is at the very heart” of the guarantees given then. “So you cannot now dismiss it as a technicality. It is, in fact, the mechanism designed to protect our neutrality.”

The triple lock requires the approval of Dáil, Government and UN for the deployment of more than 12 Defence Forces personnel on overseas missions. The legislation has yet to be debated at committee level.

Minister for Defence Helen McEntee said the change was needed for Ireland to maintain peacekeeping operations into 2027 and wants the Bill enacted and implemented by the end of the year.

However, Oireachtas Defence Committee chairwoman Rose Conway-Walsh declined an early hearing, saying the matter “needs to be dealt with in a thorough and transparent manner”.

Chambers insisted the change “is all about reform” and “keeping alive the Irish tradition of peacekeeping”.

He accused McDonald of being “willing to abandon this proud tradition of peacekeeping”.

The Minister said “without the reform we are proposing, Ireland will no longer have the capacity, in many instances, to participate in peacekeeping around the world.

“Without the reform we are proposing, our military will no longer have any meaningful international role.”

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