AS I SEE IT
BY MARIANNE HERON
It’s not often I get embarrassed about what other people do. If they choose to mess up, that’s their own lookout. But when failure to do the right thing brings shame on all of us, then I cringe. At present, I am experiencing serious, multiple cringes over the way the Government has chickened out over the Aughinish Alumina issue.
The first cringe was a slow burner with the revelation by The Irish Times, in conjunction with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, that alumina is being shipped from the Limerick plant to Russian smelters which supply the Russian arms and missile manufacturers with aluminium.
Aughinish Alumina is owned by Rusal, whose parent company EN+ is owned by the sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a close pal of Putin. The report was news to me, but then the Government – at least the relevant departments – must have known about this, and then turned a blind eye while material from Ireland is apparently involved in slaughter in Ukraine, a country we support with humanitarian aid.
Yes, there are 500 jobs at stake at the plant as well as hundreds of supporting jobs. I find myself asking, from a moral point of view, what matters more, jobs or lives? The Government promised an investigation into the situation.
The cringe factor kicked in with a vengeance at the opening ceremony of Ireland’s Presidency of the EU, where our reputation as honest brokers should have been burnished. Instead, after thanking us for our support for Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had to hurry home given the threat of a major attack by the Russians. The Ukrainian President said of alumina exports: “That every ton of raw materials that end up in Russia are used against us. That is our understanding.”
At least 17 people were killed in the following Russian attack on Ukraine. The amount of alumina exported from the Limerick plant has risen significantly since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine and now accounts for 50% of production. The rest of the production goes to Europe which, in the Government’s view, complicates matters. But why not stop the exports to Russia, especially since the Limerick plant has been struggling to sell elsewhere due to concerns over Russian ownership?
Applying sanctions to stop the export to Russia is a matter for the EU, but there are other approaches. Australia cut off alumina exports to Russia, which supplied 20% of its needs at the start of the war in 2022. Australian Premier Scott Morrison said: “Withholding those supplies is an effective way for Australia to hurt Russia’s aggressive regime.” The country has successfully found other markets for its alumina.
There was an expectation that the investigation by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment would be made public. Instead, a summary was published with inconclusive findings. Its publication coincided with Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s visit to Kyiv, where the visit included the laying of a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance for the fallen of Ukraine.
Asked about whether the investigation showed that Irish alumina was being used for Russian weapons against Ukraine, Martin gave a sheepish ‘it does and it doesn’t’ reply: “The investigation did not find concrete evidence it was supplying alumina to the Russian military but equally could not rule out the scenario.”
Someone should remind him that there is no such thing as being slightly pregnant.
This situation is beyond cringe-making. The Government’s stance is causing us reputational damage in the EU. As the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Pina Picierno, put it: “It is unacceptable that, while the EU funds Ukraine’s defence, a Russian-owned company operates undisturbed within a member state, supplying the Kremlin’s military industry.”
The cringe factor isn’t finished. The Government are likely to kick the can down the road, hiding behind Ursula von der Leyen’s skirts to see if the EU will make a decision for them.
Given the effectiveness of the hauliers’ and farmers’ blockades over fuel prices, the Government must be wary of stirring up local protest in Limerick. The jobs of the workers at the alumina plant need to be considered too. Action needs to be taken to reassure them that they will be supported and have jobs in the future.
Something needs to be done. That should be the Government’s job – getting things done.
