Simon Coveney defends decision not to send Irish troops to Kabul airport sooner

Simon Coveney has said the operation to remove civilians from Kabul is effectively over. File picture: Visit by Minister For Defence Mr Simon Coveney TD and Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Mark Mellett DSM to UNIFIL July 2021.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has defended the decision not to send Irish troops to Afghanistan sooner.

Nine members of the elite Army Ranger Wing and two senior diplomats spent two days in the country this week, assisting 26 Irish citizens in their evacuation.