Professor Ray Murphy:

In the first instance, it would be good to reform the Security Council but in reality that is not going to happen and any amendments made have to be approved by all five permanent members. It is a case of which comes first, the chicken or the egg. Within the General Assembly, Ireland has a very good reputation. We have been elected on a number of occasions to non-permanent membership of the Security Council reflecting the support for Ireland and its particular role and the history in various other areas, especially on decolonisation, disarmament and our support for self-determination, not just of Palestinians but of various other groups.

That is where Ireland's non-membership of NATO and espoused policy of military neutrality and non-alignment could be helpful in getting support within the assembly for something like the approval of a particular mission where the Security Council was unable to reach a decision. It is only when the Security Council is unable to reach a decision that the General Assembly can step in.