Post-European Council Meeting: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-08
============================================================

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (SF), Cork South-Central

I will ask two questions and the Minister of State can take them together. While we are not saying it needs to be the number one priority, a couple of Deputies have mentioned the opportunity for the Presidency to be a vehicle to discuss Irish unity and how the EU can be a part of that. The slogan of the Presidency is "strength through unity", ní neart go cur le chéile. If any unity is a priority for us as a political party and for many other Deputies, it is that unity. There is an opportunity.
In relation to Aughinish Alumina, there is a solution here that ensures we end the flow of alumina to the Russian war effort and protect the jobs. In the negotiations and engagements the Minister of State and Irish officials have had at the European Council, what is on the table? Some leaked reports have talked about nationalisation. There is also scope for a purchase scheme by which the Irish Government or the European Commission would purchase the alumina and sell it to new buyers that are not part of the Russian war effort. Are discussions happening at European level, either at the Council or otherwise?

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-08/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-08