Nationalise Aughinish Alumina Under Workers' Control, Says Rural Workers’ Party

The Roots Party has called for the nationalisation of Aughinish Alumina, saying that the State should take control of the refinery to protect 400 jobs at risk of redundancy and establish a sovereign Irish aluminium industry.

In a newly published policy proposal, the agrarian-syndicalist party says the Government should acquire the Shannon Estuary plant from its Russian-owned parent company, Rusal, and operate it as a state enterprise before eventually transferring ownership to a worker-run cooperative.

The plan also proposes building a publicly owned, renewable-energy-powered aluminium smelter alongside the refinery, creating a fully integrated aluminium sector under Irish control.

The Roots Party argues that public ownership would safeguard employment, strengthen economic sovereignty, and reduce Ireland's dependence on foreign-controlled strategic industries. Worker ownership should become the long-term goal once State investment in the project has been repaid, the Party says

As outlined in a recent article by Party representative April Maria Sheehan Corkery, Roots’ proposal bears a stark contrast to the positions of the Liberal Left and the Republican Right. The Liberal Left advocates for the closure of Aughinish Alumina in solidarity with Ukraine and the environmentalist movement, while the republican organisation Fronta Poblachtach has aligned itself with the Russian state by issuing Russian apologia and actively cultivating relationships with representatives of the Russian state.