Irish Government to help Aughinish Alumina to enable it to continue operations amid sanctions on Russia

Simon Coveney, Minister for Foreign Affairs in Ireland, has reportedly said that he is willing to work with management of the Aughinish Alumina refinery in Askeaton to mitigate the impact of sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Coveney has asked the European Commission to consider a package of supports for EU countries, which are likely to be affected by sanctions and counter sanctions by Russia.

He said there was “an overwhelming view now that we shouldn’t be holding back, even though this will have knock-on implications and some unintended consequences”.

The Foreign Affairs minister said all this after Tánaiste Leo Varadkar met management at the refinery last week and told them the Government would render its support to help continuing the operations.

Meanwhile, Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, whose company Rusal owns Aughinish refinery, has called for peace between Russia and Ukraine.

“Peace is very important,” Mr Deripaska posted on the Telegram messaging app to his more than 71,000 subscribers on Tuesday, March 1, while adding “Negotiations need to start as soon as possible.”

Aughinish Alumina is Europe’s biggest producer of the ore, employing more than 450 people at its Askeaton plant. Production volume at Askeaton plant last year was one-quarter of Rusal’s total alumina output.