The council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) has approved proposals to make its disciplinary procedures more open and transparent.

The move comes after the Tanaiste and Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment Ms Harney said direct regulation by Government could be introduced for the members of some accountancy bodies.

Ms Harney is awaiting the outcome of the ICAI's inquiry, headed by former Supreme Court Justice Mr Blayney, into the actions of some members named in the McCracken tribunal, before deciding if self-regulation should continue.

Under the new proposals, hearings of the disciplinary committee, such as the inquiry being led by Mr Justice Blayney, will have public hearings.

The process for dealing with complaints will be speeded up and sanctions imposed by the disciplinary process will be publicised more extensively.

The proposed changes were approved by the ICAI's council at its annual meeting in Belfast on Friday. The ICAI will now seek the approval of its 10,500 members to implement the changes.

A spokesman for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment welcomed the decision. The ICAI initially resisted Department attempts to have an observer at the Blayney inquiry.

A Department representative was eventually allowed to attend but during the stand-off that took place between the two sides, the Department suggested that if the ICAI's inquiry was not seen to deal effectively with the allegations, self-regulation for the profession could end.

Mr Pierce Kent, the newly-elected President of the ICAI, said implementing the new procedures would be his most pressing task. He said the institute had always operated a very thorough and fair disciplinary process. Over the past five years, it suspended or excluded 12 members and it spent £1 million on quality assurance last year.

"However, we now recognise that open justice is far more convincing than private discipline. The changes approved by the council will help to reassure the public that when they engage a chartered accountant, they have the backing of a professional body which is serious and open about maintaining high quality standards," he said.

Mr Kent says he also plans to devote energies to other areas including looking at the issue of women in chartered accountancy and factors like globalisation and information technology.