A public disciplinary hearing of an accountant by his professional body went into private session without explanation yesterday following a ruling by its chairman.

The hearing of a case by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland against an accountant, Mr Noel Whelan, continued in private after the public were asked to leave.

The ruling followed an application for a private hearing by Mr Whelan's legal representatives. The chairman, solicitor Mr Eugene Murphy, agreed citing reasons he "could not allude to in public".

The institute amended its bylaws in 1999 to allow public access to internal disciplinary proceedings but provided for private sessions in certain circumstances. These include where a public hearing would be prejudicial to any person, agency or authority. The institute has held three public hearings since the change was introduced. The hearings are advertised in the national media and were introduced as a confidence building measure to reassure the public about the effectiveness of the profession's self-regulatory regime in dealing with misconduct.