Niall O'Connor

THE DEPARTMENT OF Enterprise has refused to release a document between it and Aughinish Alumina because it claims that doing so could damage the Limerick refinery’s business.

The controversial Russian-owned refinery has faced intense scrutiny because it has been accused of shipping quantities of alumina back to Russia.

It has been claimed the alumina is being smelted into aluminium to be used in Russian military weapons which, if proven, would be a breach of sanctions. 

The alumina refinery is owned by the Russian company Rusal, which has links to Oleg Deripaska, the billionaire oligarch and close associate of Vladimir Putin.

In 2022, Deripaska was sanctioned by the US over Russia’s annexation of Crimea. That same year, he had also been sanctioned by the British government following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A Swedish tax investigation stated he retained control over Rusal.

The Irish Times report, compiled by it and the international group Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, drew on leaked documents that alleged the plant was shipping alumina to smelters in Russia for military purposes. These smelters turn the alumina into aluminium.

While reporters weren’t able to track the final destination of a specific batch of Aughinish’s alumina, their work prompted the Department of Enterprise to investigate when there were calls by governments, including Ukraine, to have sanctions directly imposed on the plant.

The Irish government investigation found “no adverse finding have been determined” in a review of alleged breaches of sanctions by Aughinish Alumina in Co Limerick.

Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke, whose department is responsible for enforcing such sanctions, said the independent review looked at news reports about a potential leakage of alumina from the Russian-owned plant into military supply chains.

Burke said a review by his department sought information from other bodies “within and external to the State” and engaged with the company itself, but found “no evidence corroborating the media assertions”.

It has not been disclosed what the department based this finding on and what it did to determine a lack of evidence, but Burke did admit direct contact with the refinery.

Burke said the company provided the department with data stating that no alumina produced in Limerick is used for military purposes, and is solely used in the production of aluminium for export from Russia.

It is understood that the Ukrainian government had offered intelligence to Ireland to support the assertion that alumina was in the hands of Russian industries linked to weapons manufacture. 

Sources told The Journal that detailed correspondence existed between the Department of Enterprise and Aughinish Alumina management. 

This publication made an application to the Department of Enterprise to get access to those documents under the Freedom of Information Act on 17 June.

The department came back with a decision to refuse access to the correspondence in mid-August. 

They granted two records, which were emails between the office of Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke and a manager at the Limerick-based business.  

The first email on 28 May, 2026 was from Aughinish Alumina managing director Ciaran Kelleher, addressed directly to Burke.

It said: “please find attached a letter on the impact of potential trade restrictions on Aughinish, Ireland the wider European economy. I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss with you further”. 

On 29 May Kevin Lowney, an official in the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment responded with: “I wish to acknowledge receipt and thank you for your email dated 28/05/2026 concerning Aughinish Alumina – impact of potential trade restrictions. We will respond as soon as possible.”

The Department’s FOI officer refused to release the contents of the letter, citing that it was “obtained in confidence” from Aughinish Alumina and that it was “commercially sensitive information”.