In a statement this afternoon in response to concerns about the shipment, Mr Roche said the British authorities had also said that there was a 'stringent system of regulations' in place.
But he said the Irish Coast Guard would be monitoring the situation.
The Minister added that the Government will continue to use every diplomatic, political and legal route available to bring about the safe and orderly closure of the Sellafield plant.
Green Party leader Trevor Sargent had earlier sought a Dáil debate on what he described as a 'lethal shipment' of plutonium from entering the Irish Sea.
Mr Sargent said a single hulled vessel, transporting a consignment of nuclear fuel from Sellafield to Cherbourg in France, is due to pass along the east coast of Ireland in the next couple of days.
According to the Green Party, the 1.25 tonne consignment of mixed oxide or MOX fuel, which contains about 90kg of plutonium, is bound for a nuclear plant in Switzerland.
Mr Sargent described the shipment as an affront to the health and economic well-being of the Irish people.
