'No evidence' alumina shipped from Limerick supporting Russian war effort
Irish probe into exports ‘almost complete’, says Micheál Martin
THERE is no concrete evidence to prove or disprove whether alumina exported from Ireland ended up being used by Russian weapons manufacturers, the Taoiseach has said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said he would support sanctions on alumina, but also said he supported other ways of preventing alumina from being exported from Ireland to Russia.
Micheál Martin said he had briefed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in a meeting in Kyiv on Thursday about his Government’s investigation into alumina exports from the refinery in Aughinish which is owned by Russian energy giant Rusal.
There are fears for hundreds of jobs in the community with bosses at the firm saying if there were any sanctions placed upon its exports by the European Union, it would put its operation in Limerick at risk.
Rusal employs 430 people, with hundreds more sub-supply firms reliant on it for jobs.
Mr Martin said the investigation is “almost complete” and the results would be shared with the European Commission.
“The investigation has not found concrete or definitive evidence linking the alumina to a weapons manufacturer in Russia,” he said at a joint press conference at the Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv.
“That said, neither has it found definitive evidence that alumina may not be going to weapons manufacturers, so it’s difficult.
“So 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.”