Ireland withholds Aughinish Alumina meeting notes amid Russia export review

Ireland’s Department of Enterprise has withheld the release records of discussions between its secretary general and Aughinish Alumina management, citing “highly confidential information” shared by the company. The decision comes as scrutiny intensifies over the Limerick refinery’s alumina exports to feed the Russian defence sector and a possible inclusion of alumina shipments in the European Union’s (EU) 21st Sanctions Package on Russia.

Department of Enterprise Secretary General Declan Hughes and Aughinish Alumina Managing Director Ciaran Kelleher held several discussions in June and July, including a meeting on June 12 and three recorded phone calls.

The discussions took place while Irish officials were finalising a review into Aughinish Alumina’s exports to Russia.

The investigation followed reporting that alumina refined at the Co Limerick plant was being shipped in significant quantities to Russian smelters, where it is converted into aluminium. The resulting metal is sold to ASK, a Moscow-based trading company reported to supply alloy to Russian arms and missile manufacturers.

Aughinish Alumina’s exports to Russia have increased significantly since the intensification of geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine and now account for about half of the refinery’s business.

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Details of the confidential report

Enterprise Minister Peter Burke previously said that the department’s investigation could not be published as it contained commercially sensitive information. However, a copy obtained by The Irish Times, stated that Irish officials could not find evidence proving alumina exported by Aughinish Alumina was ultimately used by the Russian defence sector.

The finding came with important limitations. The inquiry was unable to obtain information on ASK’s customers and had no means of tracing Irish-refined alumina once it entered Russia.

The department has now turned down a Freedom of Information request seeking notes from meetings and phone calls between senior civil servants and Aughinish Alumina. It stated that the records contain “highly confidential information shared by the company with department officials in confidence.”

A department spokeswoman said that the Government takes an “unbiased and objective” approach when assessing whether records should be released under the FOI Act.

“Records are withheld only in instances where specific, legally defined exemption provisions under the Act, such as personal privacy or commercial sensitivity, strictly apply,” she mentioned.

Separate lobbying records show that Aughinish Alumina engaged with the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, and the Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture, Niall Collins, earlier this year.

The company’s filings with the State’s lobbying register noted that the calls were intended to highlight “risks to business and employment at Aughinish Alumina.”

The representations were made between January and April, and Kelleher also contacted Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s Chief of Staff, Deirdre Gillane, on the same issue.

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Russia supply-chain scrutiny puts refinery under pressure

Reports detailing Aughinish Alumina’s links to the Russian supply chain emerged after an investigation was undertaken by The Irish Times and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. It was informed that alumina shipped from the Co Limerick refinery is being used by Russian smelters to produce aluminium, which is thereafter being supplied to defence-linked manufacturers.

The issue also attracted attention in Ukraine. President Zelenskyy suggested Ireland examine whether alumina could be sanctioned under national legislation and urged the EU to sanction the facility.

The European Commission is considering whether to include alumina shipments in its 21st Sanctions Package on Russia in order to slow the momentum of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Echoing Ireland’s Minister of State, Seán Canney, Aughinish Alumina has warned the Irish Government that losing access to the Russian market could threaten the viability of the plant and potentially lead to its closure, putting hundreds of jobs in Ireland’s mid-west at risk.

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