Journalists and trade data monitors have revealed that Ireland has been supplying 80% of its alumina to Russia. The mineral, used to produce military hardware, is produced largely by the Irish company Aughinish Alumina. This revelation comes as Taoiseach Micheál Martin argued that sanctioning the company would cause more harm to the European Union than to Russia amid calls for sanctions from Europe. Aughinish Alumina is also owned by Rusal, a Russian company. All of this is in the background of a longer discussion in European circles over the behavior of the island nation regarding the Ukraine war, with officials in the UK recently calling Ireland “a back door” for Russian spies. If any change is going to come to the situation, it will have to be from pressure by Europe and the Irish public.
