The operation to evacuate Irish citizens from Sudan is now under way, with members of the Defence Forces being mobilised to travel to the region in the coming hours.
The Government agreed to send up to 12 Defence Forces personnel to Sudan to assist Irish people there to leave the country.
Members of the Army Ranger Wing will be involved in the operation.
It is understood that personnel are preparing to leave Ireland.
The Taoiseach said members of the mission have been authorised to travel to both Djibouti and Sudan to help with the evacuation of around 150 Irish people and their families from the region.
Leo Varadkar said while there are risks to any international operation the Cabinet had authorised the mission in order to ensure that Irish citizens are safe
He said the people who work for the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Defence Forces are trained for operations such as this.
Mr Varadkar said while the operation is being led by France it was important to have our own people on the ground because the situation had deteriorated.
He said: "I suppose it's very much another example of why European membership is beneficial for Ireland and why security partnerships within the European Union are beneficial too.
"France is taking the lead on this but we want to make sure that we're not just leaving it to the French or another country.
"We're very grateful for their leadership on this but we want to make sure our people are on the ground too."
The Department of Foreign Affairs said Irish citizens in Sudan are no longer being advised to travel to the French embassy because it has closed and is no longer a gathering place for evacuation.
The Department said the change in advice was due to the rapidly changing situation on the ground.
It comes amid reports that a number of Irish citizens who travelled to the embassy earlier yesterday could not gain entry.
Sudan's warring army and RSF paramilitary group accused each other of attacking a convoy of French nationals, both saying one French person was wounded.
France's Foreign Ministry, which had earlier said it was evacuating diplomatic staff and citizens, did not comment on the reports.
The army also accused the RSF of attacking and looting a Qatari convoy heading to Port Sudan.
Sinn Féin's Matt Carthy said he would like to see the operation to evacuate Irish citizens happen quickly.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week programme, Mr Carthy said: "The Department of Foreign Affairs are one of the most effective departments we have and have a good track record of supporting Irish citizens in distress and abroad, and all efforts need to be made to ensure that any 135 Irish citizens that are currently in Sudan are evacuated as quickly as possible - if that involves working with other states then so be it.
"There are big questions that we need to answer more broadly and generally in respect of our own capacity, particularly the capacity of our Air Corps and the Defence Forces in terms of operations but right now, the priority is evacuating Irish citizens from Sudan."
Reporting Samantha Libreri, Mícheál Lehane