More than a dozen Army Rangers are to be sent to war-torn Mali under a new proposal from Defence Minister Paul Kehoe.
The UN peacekeeping mission to the African country is considered one of the most dangerous in the world, with 125 killed since 2013 and 18 so far this year.
A decision on sending the unit is expected to be approved by Cabinet next week.
If given the green light, the two year deployment will begin in late summer/early autumn,will be the first time the Rangers will be deployed overseas since operations in Chad in 2008.
