The trade union representing local authority staff responsible for compiling the electoral register has accused the Government of failing to consult it on plans to update the register through the employment of hundreds of temporary staff.
Impact has claimed that its members have been "kept in the dark" about the plans, and that it was unclear whether staff would accept proposals to hire the additional staff.
Peter Nolan, Impact's national secretary with responsibility for local government, said the union had written to the local authority managers seeking clarification of the plans.
The first staff had heard about plans to draft in temporary staff was in the media two weeks ago, he said.
"At no stage have the staff been approached in relation to any difficulties with the register," he said. "We've been kept completely in the dark and we have now sought to be consulted on this".
He said Impact would have concerns in relation to any proposals to contract out work normally carried out by union members, but without any information, it could not adopt a position on the proposals.
Yesterday the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern confirmed in the Dáil that the county and city council managers were drawing up plans for a door-to-door survey to update the current register.
He said the plan would involve the employment by councils of temporary staff to carry out the work, although he did not provide detailed costings.
However, the Government was yesterday accused of incompetence by Opposition parties who claimed that concerns about the accuracy of the register were ignored until now.
Plans for the update project were finalised at a meeting in Dublin on Monday between local authority managers and officials from the Department of the Environment, based on proposals from the Office for Local Authority Management, a State advisory body which has been researching the issue for the past couple of years.
The cost of the plan has yet to be finalised but the updating project will begin next month and will be carried out over the summer months. It will be completed in time for the publication of the draft register in November.
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche yesterday said he was still examining the potential use of databases held by the ESB and An Post, even though their use could be illegal in certain circumstances.
Their use to cross-check specific names against registered ESB or other bill payers has already been ruled out as being potentially illegal under data protection and electoral laws by the Office for Local Authority Management.
His department still believes it may be legal to use information to identify new homes and check whether they are being lived in.
Mr Roche and the Government were criticised by the Labour Party for failing to adopt a series of proposals by the party made in the Dáil last week, including the legalisation of third-party databases for helping to compile and update the register.
Labour's environment spokes- man Éamon Gilmore accused Mr Roche of "playing the blame game" by claiming on Monday that it was local authorities which were responsible for the current state of the register, with estimates that there may be up to 800,000 errors on it nationally.
He said Mr Roche should "accept that he must bear ultimate responsibility for this shambles".