Aughinish Alumina says a “clerical error” was responsible for the company providing incorrect statistics on its exports to Russia.
Last week, The Irish Times reported figures, obtained from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), showing 83 per cent of alumina exports from Ireland (200,619 tonnes) went to Russia in the first three months of 2026 while 0.6 per cent went to the European Union.
Government Ministers later disputed the CSO figures, stating that Aughinish had informed them that 45 per cent of exports went to Russia.
On Thursday, in response to queries, a spokesperson for Aughinish said it has now carried out an “internal investigation into CSO discrepancies”.
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“Following this investigation Aughinish has informed Government departments that Aughinish made a clerical error in the input of our EU statistics.”
The clerical error related to the number of exports to EU countries. It said the statistics in tonnage for non-EU countries, including Russia, were unaffected.
It said the true proportion of shipments to Russia for the first three months of 2026 was 51 per cent. The figure for 2025 was 45 per cent, it said.
The company said it expects the final figure for all of 2026 to be similar to 2025.
“Aughinish has now corrected this error and understands these corrections will be reflected online by the relevant agencies shortly,” the company said.
Earlier, there were calls for the Government’s Aughinish Alumina investigation to be completed without delay amid concern over reports that alumina from the Co Limerick plant ended up in the supply chain for manufacturing Russian arms used in its war against Ukraine.
Fine Gael MEPs have said an investigation into the matter by the Department of Enterprise should be completed “as soon as possible”, while Sinn Féin said the Government “must establish the facts without delay”.
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.
The company has insisted it complies with “all applicable European Union laws, including sanctions, export control measures and trade regulations”.
During an appearance on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland earlier this week Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke was asked whether he accepted it was likely that alumina exported from the State to Russia was being used to make weapons to kill Ukrainian people.
“I have no information to suggest [that] at this point in time,” said Burke.
He said his department was carrying out an “investigation” into Aughinish Alumina, the findings of which would be shared with the European Commission.
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.
On Thursday, Fine Gael MEPs Seán Kelly, Maria Walsh, Regina Doherty and Nina Carberry issued a joint statement saying: “We are deeply concerned by reports suggesting that alumina exported from the Rusal-owned Aughinish Alumina plant in Limerick may ultimately be supporting Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine.”
They added: “Ireland has been steadfast in its support for Ukraine since the beginning of this illegal invasion and has consistently supported strong and effective measures against Russia.
The MEPs added: “The reports relating to Aughinish are serious and it is welcome they are being thoroughly investigated ... If it is established that material exported from Ireland is contributing, directly or indirectly, to Russia’s capacity to sustain its war against Ukraine, then that must be taken with the utmost seriousness.”
Sinn Féin’s enterprise spokeswoman Rose Conway-Walsh said Burke must provide a clear timeline for the Aughinish Alumina investigation.
A statement from her party said: “A full and transparent investigation of the manufacturer’s exports to Russia must take place without delay to ensure no material produced in Ireland is being used to support the Russian war effort.”
Conway-Walsh said: “It is simply not good enough for Minister Burke to say the Government has ‘no information’ that shows that the plant’s exports to Russia are being turned into the weapons of war that are potentially being used to kill innocent Ukrainian civilians.
“The Government must be able to state clearly and confidently that nothing produced at Aughinish is supporting Russia’s war effort. If it cannot do so, it must establish the facts without delay.”
She said protecting jobs at Aughinish Alumina is “essential”, but that “cannot be used as an excuse to avoid legitimate scrutiny”.
During a visit to Hungary, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was “concerned about any reports that the products of Aughinish Alumina would be used to assist Russia in waging its brutal war against Ukraine”.
He was speaking to reporters after a meeting with the Hungarian prime minister Péter Magyar during which Martin underlined the need for “continued steadfast support for Ukraine as it continues to defend its sovereignty”.
Martin said the position of the Department of Enterprise was that there would be “Europe-wide repercussions” if Aughinish Alumina were to be put on the EU sanctions list since plants in Sweden and France are “quite substantially reliant on the material from Aughinish”.
Martin said the Government will publish their findings when the investigation is concluded.
