Aughinish Alumina report will not rule out that material is used in Russian weapons

The Government report into Aughinish Alumina is expected to say it cannot rule out the possibility that Irish-produced alumina is ending up in the Russian military supply chain because of the lack of hard evidence, The Irish Times understands. However, it is unlikely to conclude that material from the Co Limerick plant is being used in the country’s arms industry, according to three sources with knowledge of the work involved in the review. The Government will send the report to Brussels and commence an engagement on the issue with the European Commission which is unlikely to be concluded until the autumn. The report is being compiled by officials in the Department of Enterprise , though it is understood that Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke has yet to receive a final report. However, discussions on Aughinish have taken place at the highest level in Government, where there is a high degree of sensitivity about the issue, given a forthcoming trip to Kyiv by Taoiseach Micheál Martin . [ Aughinish Alumina workers will be consulted on its future ‘once we have the facts’, says McEntee Opens in new window ] Nationalisation is not on cards, say people with knowledge of the issue. The Attorney General has advised that the legal threshold for such an action has not been crossed. It is possible that exports of alumina – the raw ingredient for aluminium which is exported from the Co Limerick plant – will be sanctioned by the European Union , though there are currently no proposals for doing this. If that happens, it would have severe implications for the company, with banks and other entities being prevented from dealing with it. Some sources say they believe such a move is unlikely as it could leave the EU with a supply problem. The Government has come under pressure over Aughinish after an investigation by The Irish Times in March – published with journalism consortium the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project – said Limerick-produced alumina had entered the Russia’s weapons supply chain. Revised figures provided by the Central Statistics Office on Wednesday show half of the alumina produced in the plant in the first quarter of this year went to Russia, up from 43 per cent last year. The CSO figures were revised downwards from earlier estimates because of new information from Aughinish, which the company previously said was because of a clerical error. In the first quarter of this year, 50.25 per cent of Aughinish Alumina went to Russia while 39.22 per cent went to the EU, the revised figures show. The remainder went to other non-EU countries, the CSO said. In 2025, 43 per cent of Aughinish alumina went to Russia (775,985 tonnes) while 38.3 per cent (689,785 tonnes) went to the EU, the new figures state. The original CSO figures stated 66.8 per cent went to Russia in 2025. The revised figures show Russia remains by far the biggest individual country receiving alumina from Ireland and continues to purchase significantly more than the EU. Behind Russia, the next biggest individual customer was France , which purchased 77,156 tonnes in the first three months of this year to supply its aluminium smelter in Dunkirk. Just under 70,000 tonnes were sent to Sweden during the same period where Rusal , the Russian metals giant which owns Aughinish, operates another aluminium smelter. Last week the Ukrainian embassy supplied information on the issue to the Irish Government, but sources with knowledge of the issue said this did not alter the picture materially. In reply to queries, the embassy declined to comment on the nature of the information but said: “During his recent meeting with president Volodymyr Zelenskiy , Taoiseach Micheál Martin reaffirmed his commitment to concluding the investigation as soon as possible. “The Ukrainian side looks forward to its timely conclusion and to discussing the findings with the Irish authorities, as appropriate. “Ukraine remains committed to close co-operation with Ireland to ensure that no economic activity carried out from its territory contributes to Russia’s ability to sustain its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.”