Ireland’s dialogue with EC continues to defend job losses at the Aughinish Alumina refinery

The Government of Ireland, which is the cabinet exercising executive authority in-country, is pursuing its dialogue with the European Commission and other EU nations in regards to the future of the Aughinish Alumina refinery to safeguard any type of job losses at one of the biggest employer of Limerick County.

Following the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Aughinish Alumina’s Russian ownership has been in the headlines and the Ukrainian Ambassador to Ireland professing for it to be pulled down earlier this month.

The Irish Fine Gael politician who is serving as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment since June 2020, Leo Eric Varadkar has been in conversations with his French and Swedish counterparts to avert the 480 jobs at the largest alumina refinery in Europe. If the shutdown of the facility emerges due to the sanctions, then it will not be restricted to employee lay-offs, but will also hurt the livelihoods of hundreds of contractors associated with the refinery.

The Aughinish Alumina refinery has been at risk last year due to a military coup in Guinea, from where the refinery sources its raw material bauxite.

The global miner Rio Tinto has also announced to unfasten all its relations with the Russian aluminium giant, which has eventually impacted the refinery for its bauxite shipping from Brazil.

Although, Varadkar and Paschal Donohoe, the Finance Minister met management at Aughinish last month to discuss the issues of the global pressure of sanctions.

Simon Coveney, the Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs has already stated, “The government will not resist any imposition of EU sanctions on Oleg Deripaska, but it does want to protect the firm’s workers.”