Patients across Cork are missing hospital appointments because they failed to reply to a validation letter or have not received one.
Over 13,000 people were removed waiting lists in Cork last year and there are concerns the list could include those in need.
Sinn Fein's Donnchadh O'Laoghaire says not everyone is getting access to their letter so phone calls need to be added to the validation system.
Speaking to RedFM news, he says waiting lists need to come down, but for the right reasons
"They have said to me that there are instances where people who have spent a year, year and a half on a list or longer waiting on an appointment, they inquire about when they're going to get an appointment and they're told that they have been taken off the list because they failed to reply to a letter. We all want to see waiting lists come down but we want to see them come down for the right reasons. We don't want people in need of treatment being taken off unnecessarily"
