Asylum-seekers and other immigrants are being refused the right to register to vote, despite changes introduced by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, last month intended to ensure they could vote.
Groups working with foreign nationals - be they migrant workers, students or asylum-seekers - welcomed the amendment made by Mr Cullen to the electoral regulations in late April to allow immigrants use their Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) card as identification at polling stations.
Many immigrants have only a GNIB card as identification though until last month's change this was not one of the recognised forms of identification in elections.
All immigrants can vote in local elections while EU citizens can vote in EU elections. It is thought this section of the electorate could number up to 50,000.
However, confusion has arisen as to whether the GNIB card is acceptable identification when actually adding one's name to the electoral register.
Foreign nationals attempting to register with GNIB cards are being turned away from Garda stations, said Mr Pat Guerin, liaison officer with the Irish Refugee Council.
He said the problem was particularly bad in Waterford though it understood there were also problems in Dundalk and other parts of Co Louth.
Mr Thomas Erbsloh, secretary of the Waterford Against Racism campaign, said it was a "clear catch-22 situation".
"They are entitled to vote but to get to vote you have to be on the register. But you can't be on the register if your ID is not recognised when you register."
He said he could not understand why gardaí would not accept a piece of identification that the force itself had issued.
Mr Erbsloh said he had been in touch with the Department's franchise section, and he was told that the matter of ID at Garda stations was a matter for the Garda.
A spokesman for the Garda press office said the force had raised the issue with the Department of Environment, "and are awaiting clarification".
The deadline to register to get on the supplementary register is two weeks from today.
