A call has been made for the Government to reassess the effectiveness of the Defence Forces in overseas missions amid claims of a “scattergun” policy.

Independent Socialist Clare Daly said "we operate under a number of different banners and on a fairly ad hoc basis".

She believed the UN mission in Chad was "more about furthering French economic interests than a serious attempt at peacekeeping".

During defence questions, she highlighted the 5 million people who had died since 1996 in the Congo because of conflict, but said this had been ignored by European states and others.

“A fully-fledged UN mission, with Irish troops participating, could have an effective role rather than the current scattergun approach.”

Mr Coveney said he understood Ms Daly's point, but said: "Ireland cannot solve every international problem and the State must prioritise where it sends its troops."

The Defence Forces have limited capacity and “we do not want to spread ourselves too thinly”.

When Ms Daly said it was a worrying trend that Ireland was getting involved with forces under EU and Nato banners, the Minister stressed that “Ireland is not involved in any peacekeeping missions that do not have the blessing, support or mandate of the UN”.

She said she was not asking the Minister to “slavishly follow any international organisation, but to stand back as Minister for Defence and look at the effectiveness of our troops abroad”.

The Middle East conflict had been ongoing since 1948 and Ireland had been involved in the Golan Heights since 1958. “There comes a time when the presence of UN peacekeepers becomes a facilitating mechanism for the continuation of conflict and does not deliver peace.”

The Minister said Ireland had only got involved in the current Golan Heights mission just over a year ago in difficult circumstances “and Irish people should be proud of that”.