Sir, - Michael Foley's excellent article, "Professional bodies must make open hearings the norm (January 15th), in which he calls for openness in disciplinary hearings by the relevant professional bodies of doctors, lawyers and veterinary surgeons, makes sound sense.
However, Michael is not fully accurate when he says: "For the rest of us, of course, any hearings about our employment are held in public either in court or at a tribunal."
The National Union of Journalists, of which Michael and I are members, is one body that holds its quasi judicial disciplinary proceedings (the famous Rule 18) in secret.
Disciplinary proceedings against journalists are as likely to be of public interest as those against doctors and lawyers.
It is deeply ironic that it is the Irish Medical Council rather than the NUJ that is breaking new ground here. I trust the NUJ will immediately rectify this anomaly and go public on disciplinary proceedings under the code of professional conduct. - Yours, etc.,
Portmarnock. Co. Dublin.