Government review finds 'no adverse findings' linking Aughinish Alumina to Russian military

Kenneth Fox

The Department of Enterprise confirmed the review into Aughinish Alumina has established "no adverse findings" linking alumina produced at the Limerick plant to Russia's weapons industry.

However, it found a "lack of verifiable internal trade data" since the country's invasion of Ukraine.

The review follows reports that alumina exports from the plant on the Shannon Estuary, Co Limerick, are being used to supply Russian weapons manufacturers.

In a statement released on Friday, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said his Department's independent review had assessed the information contained in March articles, as well as subsequent media coverage, in the context of potential leakage of alumina from Limerick into military supply chains.

"The Department has also sought information from other bodies within and external to the State and has engaged with the company itself in the conduct of this review," he said.

"We engaged with other jurisdictions including Sweden and Ukraine and conducted our own research, and no evidence corroborating the media assertions could be found."

Speaking on Thursday during a visit to Kyiv, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the department's review into Aughinish Alumina had produced no definitive conclusions.

Mr Burke said that while the media articles allege that alumina from Limerick may be part of purchases made by a company named ASK on behalf of Russian military contractors, it is relevant to note that the articles include a statement that the investigating journalists “could not track the final destination of a specific batch" of Aughinish’s alumina.

He said despite "every effort" to substantiate the claims, the report could not find any evidence.

However, he noted there is a lack of verifiable internal trade data within Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

"No information of a sufficient evidentiary level is currently available to confirm the assertions that alumina from Ireland is entering the supply chain of Russian military contractors.

"The company has provided data stating that no alumina produced in Limerick is used for military purposes, and is solely used in the production of aluminium for export from Russia. However, this cannot be independently verified by the Department," he said.