'No adverse findings' in Aughinish Alumina report but lack of internal data since Russia invaded Ukraine, says Burke

According to Mr Burke, the Department of Enterprise will continue to monitor events and assess further reports of potential sanctions breaches at the plant. File image

The Department of Enterprise has 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 of exports of alumina from the plant on the Shannon Estuary, Co Limerick being used to supply Russian weapons manufacturers.

In a statement released this morning, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said his Department's independent review had assessed the information contained in articles in March, 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.

"The Department has engaged with other jurisdictions including Sweden and Ukraine and conducted its 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 added 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.

According to Mr Burke, the Department of Enterprise will continue to monitor events and assess further reports of potential sanctions breaches.

"We will continue to work with the European Commission, relevant authorities within Ireland and other authorities throughout the Member States and Ukraine to enforce sanctions. The Irish Government stands in lockstep with Ukraine in its defence of its borders and of its people from the illegal war of aggression that it is confronting. I thank our Ukrainian partners for supplying my Department with information available to them," he said.

As now completed, the report has been submitted to the European Commission responsible for EU sanctions.

Mr Martin confirmed at a joint press conference on Thursday that he had briefed Mr Zelenskyy on the findings of the Department of Enterprise's investigation.

“The investigation has not found concrete or definitive evidence linking the alumina to a weapons manufacturer in Russia,” Mr Martin said.

“That said, neither has it found definitive evidence that alumina may not be going to weapons manufacturers. So, it's difficult.

“What we're going to do now is we're going to share the investigation with the European Commission, because this is both an Irish issue and a European issue in terms of alumina.”