The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said it is working to clarify figures provided by Aughinish Alumina relating to the company’s exports to Russia.
Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke on Tuesday claimed that figures sent by the Co Limerick-based operation to the national statistics body were wrong.
The Irish Times on Saturday reported that 83 per cent of Irish alumina went to Russia in the first quarter of this year, with 0.6 per cent going to the EU. Burke said the true figure was about 45 per cent, with another 45 per cent going to the EU and other countries.
In response to queries, the Department of Enterprise said it was “aware that a discrepancy in volume was presented in the export figures by Aughinish Alumina”. A spokesman said the company has been contacted by the department and “is now seeking to rectify this matter with the respective State bodies”.
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The CSO, which compiled the statistics, said on Tuesday afternoon it has yet to receive any amendments to the export figures. Such data is provided by the customs authority based on information provided by traders, a spokeswoman said.
She said “traders are required to submit accurate goods exports data under EU regulation” and that statistics are “subject to regular revision through a standard process”.
“The CSO is currently seeking to establish if there are revised figures for this category with the customs authority, which is the source of this data.”
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Niall Collins said the Department of Enterprise needed to be given “space” to carry out its investigation into the matter.
“What we have to deal in is facts, and there is a review and an investigation being undertaken at the moment by the Department of Enterprise, and that will be furnished to the European Commission, who will then make an informed decision in relation to this,” he told RTÉ’s Primetime on Tuesday night.
Collins also criticised “misreporting” on the issue by “not trusted or unverified websites and news agencies”.
Presenter Miriam O’Callaghan replied by saying: “Minister, we are talking about The Irish Times, which is extremely reputable.”
Collins, a TD for Co Limerick, did not name any outlets but said “the misreporting of the exporting of alumina to Russia and to Europe over the last number of days has really complicated the whole reportage around this”.
“The plant here in Limerick supplies 40 per cent of the alumina requirement for the European Union, and if the plant in Limerick were to close by virtue of sanctions, you would then have a crisis of supply of alumina in the European Union, and that’s very significant,” he added.
In March, an Irish Times investigation, carried out in co-operation with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, found that Aughinish’s Co Limerick plant was shipping vast amounts of alumina to smelters in Russia, where it is used to make aluminium, which is then sold to a trading company, ASK, that supplies dozens of Russian arms manufacturers.
This has prompted calls among EU lawmakers for alumina to be added to the bloc’s sanctions lists. Irish Government Ministers have responded that such a move would damage Europe more than Russia.
During an appearance on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Burke was asked whether he accepted it was likely that alumina exported from Ireland to Russia was being used to make weapons to kill Ukrainian people.
“I have no information to suggest [that] at this point in time,” Burke said.
He said his department was carrying out an “investigation” into Aughinish Alumina, the findings of which would be shared with the European Commission, “which makes a decision”.
Burke said his department was doing a “deep dive” to ensure it was not the case that Aughinish was exporting alumina that was being turned into weapons for Russia.
The Minister admitted the Government would need “boots on the ground” in Russia to know with precision where exactly Irish-made alumina was ending up.
The Embassy of Ukraine in Ireland said it welcomed the investigation.
“Ukraine fully recognises the importance of protecting jobs, communities, and industrial competitiveness in Ireland and across the European Union. At the same time, Russia’s continued war of aggression requires constant vigilance to ensure that commercial activities do not directly or indirectly contribute to sustaining the military capabilities of a state engaged in a brutal and unprovoked war against a sovereign European nation,” it said in a statement.
The embassy said it “highly values its strong partnership with Ireland and deeply appreciates the steadfast support and solidarity demonstrated” by Ireland since the beginning of the Russian invasion. “We count on Ireland’s continued leadership in supporting Ukraine, strengthening the effectiveness of international sanctions, and ensuring that European resources, technologies, and supply chains cannot be exploited to sustain Russia’s war machine.”
Sergiy Kyslytsya, the first deputy head of the office of the president of Ukraine said he had a “substantive meeting” with Iryna R Mudra, the deputy head of the same office and Jonathan Conlon, the Irish ambassador to Ukraine.
He said a number of issues were discussed but that “particular attention was paid to the situation surrounding recent reports in the Irish media regarding the export of alumina to Russia in the context of the ongoing aggression. Ukraine counts on continued co-operation with Ireland in advancing our European integration and strengthening a secure, resilient and prosperous Europe”.
