Credit card firms have more information on people than the Government's electoral register, it was claimed in the Dail today.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte claimed that 60,000 names have been deleted from the list in the latest revision, including party TD and frontbench spokesman Jack Wall.
Mr Rabbitte called on Finance Minister Brian Cowen to take personal responsibility for the issue.
Speaking during Leaders' Questions, Mr Rabbitte said: "We're boasting about how wealthy a nation we are and we can't event compile the most basic electoral register accurately.
"There are banks, finance houses and credit card companies that have more accurate records of the citizenry than does the electoral register."
Mr Rabbitte, who said he received dozens of phone calls and emails from constituents on the issue, said some people cannot go to their local Garda stations because they have been closed down.
"The great majority who have been deleted will not put it right and there will be a great deal of anger on polling day when they find our they're not on the electoral register."
Mr Cowen, who was representing the Taoiseach, said the compilation of the electoral register would be the most comprehensive ever. He said the population had undergone dramatic changes since the last General Election.
Mr Cowen added: "There have been a lot of additions and deletions as a result of the extensive fieldwork that has been done."
He told TDs that there is a strong correlation between the register and statistics on the adult population contained the Census 2006. He said people who have died or moved house had been taken off the register for the purposes of accuracy.
"There has been a lot of population movement in this country in the last number of years and we have to take account of that.
"We have to recognise that we are coming from a situation where the register was very inaccurate," he told the Dail.
People can check if they are registered to vote by logging onto www.checktheregister.ie which brings together the draft registers of 34 local authorities throughout the State.
Councils have finalised their draft registers and will make them available until November 25 in public offices — including City and County Council offices, Garda stations, libraries and post offices — as well as online.
A television and radio campaign in coming weeks will remind people to register if they want to vote in the upcoming elections.
PA