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McEntee seeks Irish role in EU Lebanon mission after UNIFIL

The minister links a new deployment to reform of Ireland's triple lock, while Labour calls for a national security debate first.

Channel: RTÉ News ·

IrelandStory of October 27, 2026Trari Newsroom

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McEntee says Irish troops should be in new Lebanon mission | RTÉ News

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:20McEntee visits Camp Shamrock as UNIFIL's mandate approaches its end.
0:58McEntee says triple-lock reform is needed for Irish participation in a proposed EU mission.
1:22Labour's Duncan Smith wants a national security strategy debated before changes to deployment rules.
1:46Mulcahy identifies armored equipment, force protection and drone threats as operational concerns.
3:10Heaphy describes Netanyahu's election rhetoric, an AI-generated doomsday video and lobbying of Trump.

Irish troops should remain involved in Lebanon through a proposed European Union mission, with both peacekeeping and peace enforcement duties, Foreign Affairs and Defence Minister Helen McEntee says.

Reporting from her visit to Camp Shamrock in southern Lebanon, Ireland's RTÉ News sets out the choice facing the government as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, approaches its end. The broadcaster reports that the mandate expires at the end of the year following a Security Council vote, with Irish Defence Forces due to withdraw by Easter.

McEntee wants Ireland to participate in the civilian and military elements of a successor EU operation. She argues that doing so requires reform of the triple lock, Ireland's mechanism requiring government, parliamentary and UN authorization for qualifying overseas troop deployments. Her proposal concerns a possible new mission, rather than an announced deployment.

Labour's Duncan Smith argues that the government should settle a broader question first. "We should not be making any decisions in this area until we debate a national security strategy," he says, making the case for retaining the triple lock in the meantime.

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ross Mulcahy describes the sadness surrounding withdrawal and pays tribute to the Irish soldiers who died during the mission. He also identifies practical challenges for future operations: armored equipment, force protection, drones and counter-drone technology.

The report then turns to Tel Aviv, where deputy foreign editor Edmund Heaphy connects Lebanon's security situation with Israel's election campaign. He describes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign rhetoric, an AI-generated doomsday video and lobbying of US President Donald Trump. For the Irish troops featured earlier, the immediate questions remain the mandate under which they could return and the protection a new operation would require.

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