The Education Minister Richard Bruton says the government did have a contingency plan for Donald Trump getting elected as US President.
There have been fears over what a Trump administration will mean for Irish workers in the US.
He also plans to cut America's corporate tax rate to between 15-20% - in a bid to lure US businesses back from countries like Ireland which have low rates of corporation tax.
Many people were shocked by the election result, but Minister Bruton says cabinet members had discussed the possibility.
"We've always had a contingency plan," he explained. "I've been working not only in Education but previously in Jobs, and we always are alert to changes in the trading and taxation policies of major countries with whom we trade.
"That's a normal part of our steady preparation - to be alert to challenges that may come our way. So we always look at the issues no matter what candidate is successful."
The US President-elect's senior economic adviser told Newstalk Breakfast last week that while there are "fairly high odds" that the rate of business tax across the Atlantic will be slashed, Ireland isn't one of the key countries that they are targeting.
Stephen Moore said: "Our concern isn’t so much companies leaving for Ireland as companies leaving for China, Mexico and Japan..."
