Editing Republic of Ireland (section)

===Military===
{{Main|Defence Forces (Ireland)}}
{{See also|Irish neutrality}}
[[File:Soldiers from 41 Inf Gp on Parade 1 (4446682116).jpg|thumb|upright= 1.0|[[Irish Army]] soldiers as part of [[Kosovo Force]], 2010]]

Ireland is a [[neutral country]],<ref>{{harvnb|Gilland|2001|p=143}}.</ref> and has "triple-lock" rules governing the participation of Irish troops in conflict zones, whereby approval must be given by the UN, the [[Dáil]] and Government.<ref>{{cite web |title =Minister for Defence, Mr. Willie O'Dea TD secures formal Cabinet approval today for Ireland's participation in an EU Battlegroup |publisher =Department of Defense |url =http://www.defence.ie/WebSite.nsf/Release+ID/6D9B93944C2A59FE802572270057FB57?OpenDocument |access-date =26 August 2008 |archive-date =19 November 2007 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071119092047/http://www.defence.ie/WebSite.nsf/Release+ID/6D9B93944C2A59FE802572270057FB57?OpenDocument |url-status =live }}</ref> Accordingly, its military role is limited to national self-defence and participation in [[United Nations peacekeeping]].

The Irish Defence Forces ({{lang|ga|Óglaigh na hÉireann}}) are made up of the [[Irish Army|Army]], [[Irish Naval Service|Naval Service]], [[Irish Air Corps|Air Corps]] and [[Reserve Defence Forces|Reserve Defence Force]]. It is small but well equipped, with almost 10,000 full-time military personnel and over 2,000 in reserve.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lally |first=Conor |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/numbers-in-defence-forces-hit-40-year-low-1.777800 |title=Numbers in Defence Forces hit 40-year low |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=25 November 2009 |access-date=12 November 2010 |archive-date=3 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903232010/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/numbers-in-defence-forces-hit-40-year-low-1.777800 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2016-01-13/section/445/ | website=Houses of the Oireachtas | title=Written Replies Nos. 437 to 450 – Defence Forces Reserve | date=13 January 2016 | access-date=27 July 2016 | archive-date=11 October 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011004946/http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail2016011300092?opendocument#WRFF02150 | url-status=live }}</ref> Daily deployments of the Defence Forces cover [[Military aid to the civil power|aid to civil power]] operations, protection and patrol of Irish territorial waters and [[EEZ]] by the Irish Naval Service, and UN, EU and [[Partnership for Peace|PfP]] peace-keeping missions. By 1996, over 40,000 Irish service personnel had served in international UN peacekeeping missions.<ref>{{cite book|last=United States. National Archives and Records Administration, United States. Office of the Federal Register|title=Weekly compilation of Presidential documents, Volume 32, Issue 2|year=1996|publisher=Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration|page=1050|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V-BKAQAAIAAJ&q=irish+defense+forces+un+40,+000|access-date=29 August 2012|archive-date=5 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705090624/https://books.google.com/books?id=V-BKAQAAIAAJ&q=irish+defense+forces+un+40%2C+000|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Irish Air Corps is the air component of the Defence Forces and operates sixteen fixed wing aircraft and eight helicopters. The Irish Naval Service is Ireland's navy, and operates six [[patrol ship]]s, and smaller numbers of inflatable boats and training vessels, and has armed boarding parties capable of seizing a ship and a special unit of [[frogman|frogmen]]. The military includes the Reserve Defence Forces ([[Army Reserve (Ireland)|Army Reserve]] and [[Naval Service Reserve]]) for part-time reservists. Ireland's special forces include the [[Army Ranger Wing]], which trains and operates with international special operations units. The President is the formal Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces, but in practice these Forces answer to the Government via the [[Minister for Defence (Ireland)|Minister for Defence]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/government_in_ireland/security_and_emergency_services/defence_forces.html | website = citizensinformation.ie | publisher = Citizens Information Board | title = Defence Forces | access-date = 28 July 2020 | archive-date = 29 July 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200729013557/https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/government_in_ireland/security_and_emergency_services/defence_forces.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

In 2017, Ireland signed the United Nations [[Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |title=Chapter XXVI: Disarmament&nbsp;– No. 9 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons |publisher=United Nations Treaty Collection |date=7 July 2017 |access-date=17 September 2019 |archive-date=6 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806220546/https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |url-status=live }}</ref>