IT'S every holiday maker's nightmare scenario. You arrive at your destination to find that the air conditioning is on the blink, the promised sea view is a strip of blue on the far horizon and the builders drilling like demons next door look as though they've been there since 6 a.m.

Two pieces of legislation passed last year aim to protect the consumer against such problems. The laws The Package Holidays & Travel Trade Act 1995 and the European Communities Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1995 bring the rights of Irish holiday makers into line with the rest of the European Union.

Ciaran Doherty, editor of Consumer Choice magazine and spokesman for the Consumer Association, feels the legislation was long overdue. "Problems with holidays have always figured highly in our complaints," he says. "A holiday represents a large sum of money for people. Also it's the main event of their year, with a lot of hopes and expectations tied up in it. If consumers don't get what they thought they bought, they are bitterly disappointed."

The main problem, Doherty says, is accommodation not living up to expectations. One of the key provisions of the new legislation is that liability for that, and most other problems arising, now lies with the holiday organisers. Both tour operator and travel agent have an obligation to ensure that the holiday you get is the holiday you booked. What this means in practice is that if you have a complaint about your hotel, for example, the organisers cannot suggest that you take it up with the hotelier.

"Depending on the agency and on the amount of money involved there has been a tendency in the past to fob people off," says Doherty. "We welcome the way this legislation puts the responsibility firmly on the shoulders of the organisers."

For Richard Lee, of Strongs Solicitors, who specialises in holiday litigation among other things, the new laws mean the organiser is now primarily responsible for anything that goes wrong with a package holiday. "Loosely speaking, if a holiday maker suffers injury on holiday caused as a result of the failure of the hotel or apartment in the provision of services, then the organiser could face a claim. As the organiser is now responsible for each element of a package holiday, claims in respect of airline, train and bus travel might also be brought against the holiday organiser."

However the obligations are not all one way. If horror stories of misleading brochures, small print limitations and misrepresentation proliferate among holiday makers, everybody in the travel trade is familiar with the customers who complain all holiday long, can not be satisfied no matter what is done for them and expect their holiday to be paid for by way of a claim when they get back.

Under the new legislation, the holiday maker is obliged to report any dissatisfaction as soon as possible and to minimise any loss. "Any failure or dissatisfaction concerning a holiday should be reported as soon as possible to both the holiday organiser or their local representative and also to the person responsible for the failure or dissatisfaction," says Richard Lee. Complaints should be made in writing and copies kept.

Minimising loss means accepting reasonable efforts to put things right. Richard Lee gives an example: "If a holiday maker arrives at the hotel and discovers that the promised room with a sea view is not available but a reasonable room is, he or she should consider taking the alternative accommodation rather than heading for home. Afterwards advice can be taken as to whether he or she could claim for not getting the room booked."

Lee stresses that legislation is only effective in so far as people know that it exists and how to use it. "To my mind some conditions contained in some of this year's holiday brochures are open to question in the light of recent legislation," he says. "To be fair I imagine it will take some time before the full consequences of the legislation become apparent."

Summary of new law:

The Package Holiday & Travel Act applies only if the trip covers a period of at least 24 hours or an overnight stay and the package must include at least two of the following:

. transport

. accommodation

. Other significant tourist service (for example, tours, golf, car hire).

The law applies to holidays taken in Ireland as well as overseas, and is still applicable if you pay separately for different components of the package.

Brochures:

There is no obligation on the holiday organiser to provide a brochure, but if there is a brochure its information must not be misleading and its descriptive information is an integral part of the contract, agencies may under no circumstances add clauses disclaiming liability for the inaccuracy of descriptions and photographs.

Alteration/Cancellation of Contract:

If the holiday organiser significantly alters or cancels your contract you must be given the following options:

. a full refund

. a package of at least equivalent quality

. a lower grade package with a refund of the difference in value

. a higher grade package that may cost you extra. You can reject this offer and opt for a refund.

Fairness:

Any conditions attaching to a holiday must be fair and if a condition is unfair then that condition is not binding on the holiday maker.

CHECKLIST

CHECK that you have the following information before you sign a contract:

. destination

. itinerary

. accommodation

. price

. passport and visa requirements

. health requirements

. stopover and connection details

. name and address or telephone number of the agency or tour operator's local representative.

. optional insurance policy

. Check that your tour operator Is bonded under the 1982 Tour Operators and Travel Agents Act.