Yesterday, the Taoiseach laid out Ireland's priorities for the EU Presidency. He said: "Active support for Ukraine will be a defining priority for the Irish presidency." On Tuesday night, missiles rained down on the Kharkiv region bringing destruction, injury and death to the civilian population. One of those who lost their life was a 22-year-old pregnant woman. A one-year-old child was among those seriously injured. This is the brutality caused by drones and missiles that land on Ukrainian homes on a daily basis.

An investigation carried out by The Irish Times and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project found that vast amounts of alumina are being shipped from Ireland to Russia. On arrival, it is being sold to a company that supplies dozens of Russian arms manufacturers. This flies in the face of Irish people's support for Ukraine. Alumina exports to Russia have increased from €196 million in 2021 to €318 million last year. According to a report by Swedish tax investigators, the Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, retains a controlling share of the company that has a majority ownership of Aughinish Alumina. Deripaska is a close ally and supporter of Putin. He has contributed substantially to Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine.

The Government's head-in-the-sand approach is in sharp contrast to the decisive action taken by Australia. It banned the export of alumina to Russia as soon as it invaded Ukraine. At the time, Australia supplied 20% of Russia's alumina, but it still acted with urgency. It did this because alumina played a critical role in Russia's war machine, as its then Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, said. The Australians did not want to play any part whatsoever in feeding Putin's murderous war. Instead, they said they would work with companies and exporters impacted by the ban to find new markets and expand existing ones. After Australia cut off its supply, the Russians had to look elsewhere to find replacements, including Aughinish Alumina, where exports to Russia have soared.

The Minister claims he has no idea about the end use of the alumina exported from Ireland, but it is clear from independent investigations that it is being used by Russian arms manufacturers. These arms are then being used to kill Ukrainian men, women and children. Will the Government stop the export of alumina to Russia? When will the Department's investigation be completed? Will it be published? Have we asked the Ukrainian Government for samples from drones and missiles to forensically analyse against samples from Aughinish?

I thank Deputy Cian O'Callaghan for his very important question. I fully share the concern he has raised. That is why we have set about conducting an investigation in the Department of enterprise to impartially ascertain the evidence, working with the European Commission and the Swedish authorities, which came forward with additional evidence in the past ten days. We are also working with Aughinish Alumina to try to ascertain the truth. We will get to the bottom of the supply chain. We will need assurances that it is a concealed supply chain.

Ireland has supported every sanctions package in a European context against Russia, which is the aggressor in this case. That is a total of 21 packages we have fully supported. We have been very much to the fore as a country in supporting Ukraine, be it with the very significant €90 billion support loan we were part of underwriting in a European context, supporting Ukraine with non-lethal aid, giving it spare parts for its grid, welcoming so many Ukrainians here to Ireland and also providing more than 14,000 school places to support them at that very difficult time in their history. That is why I am very clear in the first instance that we must have a robust investigation here. We are working very closely with the European Commission.

Aughinish Alumina was established in Ireland around 1986. It is the largest supplier of alumina in Europe. There are a few important facts to set out in the first instance to understand the trajectory. First, alumina is a critical raw material. It is relied upon for so many parts by every economy, including Europe, for medical devices, the automotive industry, electric vehicles and the food sector.

Will the Minister answer my questions?

I will. I said that we are carrying out an investigation to get the evidence. As a Minister, I cannot make a decision without impartial evidence before me. We are working with the European Commission, which is the competent authority in this regard, to essentially recommend sanctions to the Department of enterprise and the Government. We are the enforcement authority. We carry out the execution of the sanction but the policy piece is the remit of the Commission, which we feed into. We will be working to ascertain the truth here. We are taking a pan-European approach with other European authorities, which is critical.

I will be very clear that the Irish Government would not tolerate any exports that were feeding the Russian military complex. We have supported Ukraine. We have a very strong track record of doing that. I have put an independent process in place to ensure that we get to the bottom of the facts of exactly where this alumina is ending up. We have to achieve that through the investigation.

In a European context, alumina is not a dual-use product and has not been designated as such. There are many products like that across the economy. We have to be clear. We must get the evidence and then take action if it is proven that the supply chain is not concealed and that it is going to aid and assist the Russian military complex.

The facts on this have been established. Since the war began our exports to Russia have soared. That is one fact. The second fact is these exports come from a company where the majority ownership behind it is a Russian oligarch who is a close ally and supporter of Putin. The third fact that has been established by an independent investigation is that when these exports go to Russia they are being used to produce aluminium that is then being sold to Russian arms manufacturers. The fourth fact is those Russian arms manufacturers are supplying Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the missiles, drones and weapons are being used to kill Ukrainian people. The facts are staring the Minister in the face. The Australians knew the facts more than four years ago. They acted decisively. Why is the Government hiding behind its claim that it needs to ascertain the truth and establish what is going on here when it has been established already? When is the Government going to act decisively on this? When is it going to stop these exports? Will the Minister answer my questions? Has the Government asked the Ukrainian Government for samples of drones and missiles so it can forensically examine them to establish the links with the exports from Ireland?

Yes, we have spoken to the Ukrainian Government and we have asked it for the evidence it possesses regarding the allegation that is before us. It is currently engaging with the Department in relation to that. That is why I said our investigation is very wide-ranging. It is a genuine investigation to get the evidence. I am working with the Swedish authorities on evidence that has come forward as well. We need to go through the process to prove the allegation the Deputy puts forward. I put on the record to be helpful that incorrect data was given to the Central Statistics Office about the exports of alumina to the EU and to Russia. About 45% of it goes to Russia and about 55% goes to the EU. I have to stress test the notes that are given to me. The independent investigation will do that. A large proportion of the alumina is imported back into the European Union from smelters in Russia. We have to assess all that and ensure that the information we have is correct.

I have put on the record very clearly, as a proud European, that we stand by Ukraine. We will not tolerate, in any shape or form, if exports from Ireland are advancing the cause of the Russian aggression in Ukraine and damaging their citizens.