650 Aughinish jobs are secured; hopeful Tánaiste Simon Coveney

According to a report, Tánaiste Simon Coveney is hopeful about the job security of more than 650 personnel at Aughinish Alumina refinery in Limerick, following crippling sanctions on its Russian owner by the United States. As per the source, The Minister for Foreign Affairs has accredited the US administration for being extremely helpful in regard to the preservation of so many livelihoods that are dependent on the plant near Askeaton.

The plant has 450 staff and 220 contractors in total. The major share of Aughinish Alumina belongs to En+, a company controlled by the Russian aluminium giant Oleg Deripaska.

In early August, the US Treasury had reportedly extended the deadline to investors to divest interests in the Rusal to October 23 and also ordered Mr. Deripaska to abdicate control over the company’s stake.

In late May, according to Reuters report, Russian metal tycoon Oleg Deripaska had stepped down as a director of his aluminium firm Rusal and initiated the preparation for reducing his stake in En+ to a level where Washington would be willing to remove his businesses from its sanctions blacklist.

Minister Coveney said: “We have been raising the Aughinish issue for months now, and our ambassador and our team in Washington are very active on it. I have also been active on it, as have Ministers Pat Breen and others.”

Between 2014 and 2016, The FBI and Department of Justice attempted to turn Mr Deripaska into a US intelligence asset, according to a New York Times report. But Mr. Deripaska is said to have refused and alerted the Kremlin about the American attempts to “flip” him. His allies are of opinion that the sanctions are a result of his refusal to co-operate with the US authorities.