The Irish branch of Amnesty International has expressed grave concerns over the Government's lack of consultation in relation to the citizenship referendum.
Speaking at the launch of Amnesty International's annual report, the Executive Director of its Irish branch, Mr Sean Love, said that there has been an effective dismissal of the Human Rights Commission's views.
"Both the Human Rights Commission's and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's views should be taken on board by the Government", he said.
In statement released yesterday evening the Human Rights Commission of Ireland said it was concerned that the Government chose not to consult with it or with the All-Party Committee on the Constitution.
"The proposed amendment to the Constitution raises concerns about the future constitutional protection of children born in the State of parents who are not Irish citizens," the Commission statement said.
Mr Love also said that Amnesty had expressed its own concerns about the absence of consultation with relevant bodies and timing of the referendum in correspondence to the Taoiseach.
In its annual report which looks into human rights abuses in 2003, Amnesty International also criticised Ireland's record in mental health policy and services, saying that it "did not comply with international best practice and human rights standards."
Following its visit to Ireland, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment (CPT) expressed concerns about material conditions in the Central Material Hospital, saying that it offered "limited provision for of occupational therapy and rehabilitative activities."
The CPT also criticised Irish prisons for "inhuman conditions for prisoners suffering from mental illness" and said that it had received reports of ill-treatment of prisoners by prison and police officers.
During its visit, the committee had found prisoners in need of psychiatric care and in-hospital treatment being held in unfurbished, padded cells and it called these prisoners' treatment as "anti-therapeutic", "inhuman and degrading."
On Ireland's European Union presidency Amnesty said the stint should be used to prioritise human rights. The group said the 25-bloc EU has not lived up to its potential to protect human rights.
"Governments are using the so-called war on terrorism to undermine human rights in the name of security," Ann Marlborough, Amnesty's EU presidency officer, said.