More than 80 per cent of Irish-made alumina went to Russia in the first quarter of this year, by far the highest amount since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.It comes as Taoiseach Micheál Martin argued that sanctioning Aughinish Alumina, the only producer of alumina in Ireland, would cause more harm to the European Union than to Russia amid calls for sanctions from EuropeThe Russian company extensively lobbied the Government, warning of the risk to employment at its plant in Co Limerick since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.[ EU sanctions on Russian-owned Aughinish Alumina would be ‘self-defeating, says TaoiseachOpens in new window ]Register of Lobbying records show the company declared similar representations made to senior politicians and officials on 10 occasions over the last four years, including earlier this year.The scale of its lobbying emerged as Aughinish issued a fresh warning to the Government on Thursday of “potential unintended consequences” of possible trade restrictions as the EU considers new sanctions against Russia.Figures obtained by The Irish Times show that for the first three months of this year, 83 per cent of all alumina exports from the Republic – 200,619 tonnes – went to Russia.Just 143 tonnes, or 0.6 per cent of the total alumina exports from the Republic this year, went to EU states. The remaining 40,000 tonnes went to other non-EU countries.RTÉ reported on Thursday night that Aughinish – owned by Russian metals giant Rusal – was not expected to be included in the next round of sanctions being drawn up by the European Commission due to the knock-on effect such restrictions would have on European industry.In March, an Irish Times investigation, carried out in co-operation with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and published, found that Aughinish’s Co Limerick plant is 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”.Martin yesterday said imposing sanctions on products exported by Aughinish to Russia would be “self-defeating” and would harm the European economy more than it would Russian president Vladimir Putin’s regime.Asked if the Government had lobbied the EU on behalf of Aughinish, he said it had “engaged” on the matter.“Lobbying is probably too strong a word, but we do discuss it as all member states do when it comes to packages in relation to sanctions.”Tánaiste Simon Harris said the State “can’t cherry-pick” sanctions that might be costly to it.Asked if he believed alumina produced by Aughinish in Limerick is being used to produce weapons used against Ukraine, Harris replied: “I note the clear view of the company is that that is not the case, but I also believe in not just trusting, but also verifying.”The Department of Enterprise is carrying out its own investigation, he said, adding it was “important they do that to establish facts”. Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said last weekend this investigation was being finalised.Aughinish made fresh contact with the Government this week, raising concern about the prospect of sanctions.[ Pressure grows on Government over Aughinish Alumina as dozens of MEPs demand export banOpens in new window ]In a letter on Thursday, it warned that sanctions could tighten the supply of alumina across Europe and lead to potential job losses in the midwest.The company said Aughinish directly employs 475 staff and supports about 400 on-site contractors, with some 1,000 further jobs supported in the wider region.The letter also states: “In 2025, 55 per cent of Aughinish’s alumina was supplied to European and global industries, with 45 per cent exported to Russia.”This would appear to contradict Central Statistics Office (CSO) export data showing that the Republic exported 1,161,310 tonnes of alumina last year, of which 66.8 per cent went to Russia. The data does not specify which company exported the material, but Aughinish is the only significant alumina exporter in Ireland.Aughinish Alumina did not respond to attempts by The Irish Times to contact it in relation to these figures.The company’s lobbying returns include a May 2022 entry showing it sought to contact several senior Government politicians and officials after the Russian invasion of Ukraine the previous February.The intended result was to “raise awareness of the risk to employment at Aughinish and the impact on the EU aluminium industry as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine”.There are nine subsequent lobbying declarations from Aughinish Alumina on risks to employment.On May 21st of this year, Aughinish declared phone lobbying of Limerick-based Minister Patrick O’Donovan and Minister of State Niall Collins, as well as the Taoiseach’s chief of staff Deirdre Gillane, to provide an update on “the ongoing risks to employment”.Asked about the call to Gillane, the Department of the Taoiseach said: “There was a phone call from Aughinish Alumina managing director Ciarán Kelleher following publication of the original Irish Times article offering to provide further information if needed.”