The Government has done nothing to investigate alleged rendition flights passing through Shannon Airport, Amnesty International said today.
The human rights group also said that other European countries were "in denial" about the transport of terrorist suspects en route to US interrogation camps.
Last December the Irish Human Rights Commission called on the Government to establish an inspection system for monitoring such flights.
Amnesty Ireland Irish Section executive director Colm O'Gorman said: "The Irish Government has not taken meaningful steps to discover whether or not Irish territory and airspace has been used for renditions."
Amnesty's report,
State of denial: Europe's Role in Rendition and Secret Detentionclaims that Shannon was a regular stop-over point for aircraft carrying terrorist suspects to interrogation camps.
Amnesty Ireland Irish Section executive director Colm O'Gorman
“There is an accountability gap. Nobody is accepting responsibility or has been held to account,” Mr O’Gorman added.
The Government has always insisted that it has received high level assurances from US authorities that no rendition flights are passing through Ireland and it encouraged people to provide evidence of the contrary to the Garda.
But Mr O’Gorman said: “Instead of taking concrete preventative measures, the Irish Government has continued to rely on discredited US assurances.
“This is in the face of advice from a range of bodies such the Council of Europe and the Irish Human Rights Commission that such assurances are wholly inadequate.”
Amnesty called for an independent inquiry to investigate all allegations that rendition aircraft passed through Irish airspace.
Regulations for clearing international planes to land must also be reviewed and information on crew and passengers must be sought, the body urged.
Mr O’Gorman added: “Ireland has been a strident critic of the US ‘war on terror.‘
“What we are calling for is this rhetoric to be matched by action if it truly believes that rendition is wrong then they must act to prevent it.”
PA