Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin has said he does not regard the presence of four Russian ships off the Irish coast last week as a threat.
The Defence Forces have confirmed that four Russian vessels, including a Russian naval vessel, were observed off the south coast, within Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone.
The presence of the military and merchant ships is the latest in a series of incidents involving Russian-registered vessels entering Irish-controlled waters.
Speaking in Cork, Mr Martin said the presence of these ships is carefully monitored.
He said: "This is ongoing in terms of over the years and, indeed, in more recent times, various vessels and ships from Russia can enter into the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone.
"It is carefully monitored by Ireland and by others and that is an ongoing scenario where people track what's happening within international waters and, indeed, within the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which is quite large in itself.
"I don't see it as a threat, but it's something we are very conscious of and we keep a very close eye on."
Admiral Grigorovich, a Russian frigate, was among the vessels that entered Ireland's EEZ last week.
Images taken by the Irish Navy of one of the other ships, a tanker called the Kama, appeared to show it refuelling the frigate.
They were kept under surveillance by the Air Corps and Irish Navy.
In a statement, the Irish Defence Forces said the four ships were "monitored by the Irish Defence Forces during the conduct of air and naval patrols and have since departed the Irish EEZ ".
It is understood the vessels were present off the south coast of the country.
Images were taken of the commercial vessels which had entered Irish territorial waters off the Galway and Kerry coasts.
'A lot of posturing'
The Minister of State for European Affairs Peter Burke has said that neither the Government nor the Irish Navy have been in contact with the Russian Embassy or the four Russian vessels off the southern coast of Ireland to ascertain what they are doing.
Speaking to RTÉ's Drivetime, Mr Burke said that that there was "a lot of posturing going on" by Russia.
"Not that I’m aware of," he replied when asked if the Irish Navy had spotted anything untoward.
He also said that he was not "aware" that the Government had been in touch with the Russian Embassy in relation to the matter.
"We have not seen them infringing international law. That’s the basis on which we would take action," Mr Burke said.
