{"id":498093,"date":"2026-06-13T17:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T17:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/498093\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T17:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T17:59:09","slug":"canadian-prime-minister-has-every-confidence-in-irish-investigation-into-alumina-exports-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/498093\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian prime minister has \u2018every confidence\u2019 in Irish investigation into alumina exports \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canadian<\/a> prime minister Mark Carney<\/a> said he has \u201cevery confidence\u201d in a Government investigation into exports of alumina from Ireland to Russia, noting Ireland and the European Union have been \u201cat the forefront of supporting Ukraine in Russia\u2019s unjustified aggressive war\u201d.<\/p>\n

In March, an investigation by The Irish Times and others<\/a> found that an alumina refinery in Limerick was 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.<\/p>\n

Carney, who is in Ireland for a two-day visit, said he will discuss the matter with Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin. The Department of Enterprise is currently carrying out an investigation into the situation and is due to complete its work later this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have every confidence in [the investigation],\u201d Carney told reporters at Government Buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIreland and the European Union have been at the forefront of supporting Ukraine in Russia\u2019s unjustified aggressive war,\u201d he said, adding that such a stance will continue during Ireland\u2019s upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU.<\/p>\n

At a joint press conference at Government Buildings in Dublin, Martin said Ireland does not want to give \u201cany support to Russia\u2019s war machine\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Taoiseach said any sanctions were a matter for the EU, but noted the bloc has decided, \u201cup to now\u201d, not to sanction alumina. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe will engage with the European Commission on this following our investigation, and we\u2019ll deal with that,\u201d Martin added.<\/p>\n

Asked how his Irish heritage helped him deal with different world leaders including US president Donald Trump<\/a>, Carney referenced poet WB Yeats and said he drew on \u201cindomitable Irishry\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrawing on that strength and that heritage is necessary. [It\u2019s] important to draw on some history as well, and perspective, shared history with those you\u2019re negotiating with. I think you\u2019re referring to the United States and, of course, we have a long shared and largely positive history between our nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat history is, or that relationship, is most productive when sovereignty is respected,\u201d Carney said. <\/p>\n

During his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, Carney called for middle powers, such as Canada, and other nations to work together to stop larger countries dominating them.<\/p>\n

Carney on Saturday said he had Ireland in mind when he made those remarks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would include Ireland, and did include Ireland, in my mind at least, in terms of those middle powers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no accident that prior to the speech, and then intensifying subsequently to the speech, that we have worked towards deepening the bilateral relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Taoiseach said Ireland \u201cwarmly and unreservedly welcomes\u201d Canada\u2019s desire for deeper engagement with Europe.<\/p>\n

Carney, who has Irish grandparents, is accompanied by his wife Diana Fox Carney for the trip that will include engagements in Dublin city centre and Co Mayo.<\/p>\n

They were greeted on a red carpet at Dublin Airport by the Taoiseach and his wife Mary Martin. <\/p>\n

Canadian ambassador to Ireland Dennis King and his wife Jana Hemphill were also present, as well as Irish ambassador to Canada John Concannon and his wife Mary Concannon.<\/p>\n

It is the first bilateral visit to Ireland by a Canadian<\/a> prime minister in almost 10 years, and the first ever official visit to Co Mayo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I speak for the people of Mayo, and indeed for the Irish people more broadly, when I say that we are deeply honoured to welcome him back,\u201d Martin said on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Carney added: \u201cMiche\u00e1l, thank you for welcoming me back home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a true pleasure to return to Dublin, and an honour to be the first Canadian prime minister in a decade to be making an official visit here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two leaders announced a new \u201cbilateral co-operation framework\u201d on trade and investment, life sciences, research and innovation, and security and defence.<\/p>\n

Carney earlier signed a guest book in Martin\u2019s office, writing: \u201cIn deep appreciation for your leadership and that of Ireland towards a deeper relationship between our countries based on our shared history, common values and bold ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carney, a former governor of the Bank of England, is the grandson of Irish emigrants who were born in Co Mayo<\/a> and emigrated more than 100 years ago to Canada.<\/p>\n

He has familial links to Ireland through his grandfather Robert Carney, who was from Aghagower Westport in Co Mayo, and his grandmother Nora Moran, who was from the nearby townland of Mace.<\/p>\n

He will visit both Ireland and Paris on his way to attend the upcoming 2026 G7 Leader\u2019s Summit in Evian, France.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Mark Carney\u2019s \u2018back of envelope\u2019 idea paved way for Ireland to renegotiate bank debtOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Carney will attend an official dinner in Dublin Castle on Saturday evening. He will travel to Mayo on Sunday where he will meet President Catherine Connolly<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"CanadianCanadian prime minister Mark Carney’s note in the guest book in the Taoiseach’s office at Government Buildings. Photograph: PA <\/p>\n

[\u00a0The Irish Times view on Mark Carney: setting an exampleOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The Government has hailed the visit as a \u201csignificant milestone\u201d in relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n

It said Ireland and Canada enjoy deep historical ties, with 4.4 million Canadians \u2013 more than 12 per cent of the population \u2013 claiming Irish heritage. <\/p>\n

The Government also said Canada contributed to peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018He looks awful like Gramps Carney\u2019: Mayo relatives set for visit of Canada\u2019s PMOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Canadian investment in Ireland has increased by 131 per cent since 2016 and Ireland is now Canada\u2019s eighth largest foreign investor.<\/p>\n

The visit also comes after the Oireachtas passed the Arbitration Amendment Act, which enables Ireland to proceed to ratify the comprehensive economic and trade agreement (Ceta) once the legislation is signed by the President. \u2013 Additional reporting: PA <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said he has \u201cevery confidence\u201d in a Government investigation into exports of alumina…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498094,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[289,61,60,8189,1843,43],"class_list":["post-498093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-canada","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mark-carney","tag-micheal-martin","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}