Ireland may be in breach of human rights laws by failing to inspect US planes which may be used for transporting prisoners for torture, the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has warned.
In a formal submission to the Government, the IHRC expresses "serious concern" about Ireland's acceptance of US assurances that none of its planes are being used to for what they term "extraordinary renditions.
The Government accepts that six CIA aircraft flying as commercial carriers have used Shannon Airport 43 times over the last four years but have been assured by the US that none have had prisoners aboard.
The Government accepts the assurances and says the gardai must decide whether inspections are needed.
But the IHRC says that because there have been credible claims, for example from politicians and human rights groups such as Amnesty International, the Government is legally obliged to act.
The president of the IHRC, Dr Maurice Manning, said: "The Irish Government has a clear obligation both under the Convention against Torture, the ECHR [European Convention on Human Rights] and under domestic law to prevent any actions on our soil which could in any way facilitate torture or ill-treatment even in another country.
Thus far, the Government has said that it has received assurances from the US authorities that they are not using planes which are landing at Shannon in connection with the transport of detainees to locations where they may be tortured or ill-treated.
In the Commission's view, and in light of Ireland's international legal obligations in this field, reliance on diplomatic assurances is not sufficient to protect against the risk of torture and other forms of ill-treatment."
"Given the fact that the obligation on the State to protect against all forms of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment is an absolute one, and given the gravity of the allegations that have been made to date and which are under active investigation by the Council of Europe, it is not sufficient for the Government to rely on such assurances.
Michael D Higgins, Labour spokesperson on foreign affairs, welcomed the submission by the IHRC.
"While the government may have been able to disregard the concerns of members of the Dail and NGOs, it cannot dismiss the concerns of a body such as this, without further damaging its own credibility and undermining the role of the IHRC," said Mr Higgins in a statement.
He said given that it has been established that planes in involved in the illegal transport of prisoners through other airports have landed at Shannon, there is a prima facie case on which the government can act.
The Human Rights Commission Act, 2000, which was set up as part of the Belfast Agreement, gives significant powers to the commission, which is headed by former Fine Gael TD and senator, Maurice Manning. Section 8 of the Act states that one of the functions of the commission is "to keep under review the adequacy and effectiveness of law and practice in the State relating to the protection of human rights".
The recommendation has been sent to the Taoiseach.