The ICAI will call the State's major accountancy firms to appear before a public hearing to answer questions on their knowledge of DIRT evasion at financial institutions in the 1980s and 1990s.

The ICAI's chief executive, Mr Brian Walsh, said the institute had begun its investigation of issues highlighted during the Dail Public Accounts Committee inquiry into DIRT evasion. The PAC report was highly critical of the auditors of AIB and ACC banks, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young, both of which failed to make any provisions for massive potential DIRT liabilities at those banks during the period being investigated.

In both cases, the potential DIRT liabilities were sufficiently large as to threaten the solvency of the bank. Mr Walsh said the institute was closely examining all the evidence given by these firms to the inquiry and would be calling all of the firms which had questions to answer regarding the banks. A timetable for these hearings has yet to be drawn-up, he said.

These hearings will be the first to be heard under the institute's new by-laws which require that any inquiries into matters of public interest must be held in public.

The ICAI is also still conducting two other investigations into professional misconduct by its members. Retired Supreme Court judge Mr Justice John Blayney is inquiring into possible breaches by ICAI members of its rules arising out of the McCracken tribunal into payments to politicians by Dunnes Stores.

The ICAI is also investigating the actions of members working at Powerscreen at a time when accounting irregularities were discovered. Mr Walsh was hopeful the Blayney inquiry would be concluded by Easter but would not indicate when the Power screen inquiry would be completed.