She could be advertising face cream. Or a new brand of nail varnish. The girl in the radio ad for Hydrogel breast implants says, "I can remember waking up and saying, `What do they look like?' " Her friendly voice slots in seamlessly between Liveline and the news.

Gradually and without much fuss, cosmetic plastic surgery has become a part of the beauty regime of many Irish women and a significantly smaller percentage of Irish men.

Once obliged to travel to Britain to have that face-lift or tummy tuck, they now have clinics in Ireland where all their needs are catered for.

Those needs are varied and quite comprehensive, if a list of procedures carried out last month in the Irish clinics of one leading company is anything to go by.

Last month the clients of Transform Ireland went through 50 breast augmentations, eight facelifts, six ear jobs, six eye jobs and 12 nose jobs.

After breast augmentation, liposculpture, in which localised fat is removed with a syringe, is the second most popular procedure; 46 such operations took place in June. Laser treatment to rejuvenate the skin is also much in demand.

Add to this the tummy tucks, breast reductions, breast uplifts and collagen implants and it becomes clear that physical improvement is very much in vogue throughout the State.

With several other clinics in operation - some of which declined to contribute information for this article - it is a somewhat low-profile but booming industry.

Transform Ireland is one of the biggest cosmetic surgery companies in Europe, with an annual turnover of just over £20 million per year. Irish customers account for at least one quarter of this total at clinics in Dublin, Cork and Belfast.

Business is so good that Transform is about to open another clinic in Galway and plans to build its own premises in north they leases space in the Northbrook Clinic in Ranelagh, Dublin.

"All our surgeons fly in from England where they have specialised in cosmetic surgery for years," says the manager, Ms Halina Ashdown Shiels, who is a walking advertisement for the clinic.

To date Ms Shiels (45), who now lives in Malahide, has had rhinoplasty (a nose-job), eye lifts, laser skin treatments, liposculpture, breast implants and collagen implants in her lips.

"Last week I had a breast uplift and next week I am having a neck lift. I love it," she smiles.

Mr Alan Kingdon is director of medical services at Transform Ireland. He says that while there was limited interest from the Irish public when the company came on the scene five years ago, the situation has gradually changed.

"When we came, business was very slow and it took a good six months before it got busy, and that was a mixture of word of mouth and some fairly aggressive advertising," he says.

Since then the increase has been "steady but dramatic", with breast implants and liposculpture two of the most popular procedures.

A UK report this week, which to the dismay of some campaigners gave silicone gel implants a clean bill of health, should result in an increase in the number seeking breast augmentation, Mr Kingdon believes.

About 80 to 90 per cent of Transform's customers are female, and most are aged between 30 and 40.

"Women in general are more concerned about their appearance, it is female vanity," says Mr Kingdon, who has himself yet to surrender to the surgeon's knife.

"There is nothing wrong with wanting to enhance your features," he says. "But we have a sense of professional duty, and I would never prescribe a treatment that I didn't think would enhance a person."

All this aesthetic enhancing comes at a price (see panel), but many Irish people are willing to fork out thousands in search of a promise of eternal youth - or failing that, the permanent elimination of a few laughter lines.

Because of the aggressive advertising techniques, clinics such as Transform are often the first ports of call for those seeking such surgery.

Few realise that the same procedures are available, often at less cost, from Irish plastic surgeons in clinics and hospitals around the State who are prohibited by the General Medical Council from advertising their services.

Consultant plastic surgeon, Mr Anthony Ryan, a member of the IPRAA (Irish Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Association) is based in the Blackrock and Charlemont Clinics.

"We have a penitential attitude in Ireland where we have been taught to suffer and endure. But if you have a hang-up why not do something about it?" he asks.

The UK report on breast surgery recommends that advertisements for clinics should inform potential customers about where they can avail of detailed information on any risks of side-effects of surgery. Women should also be afforded a seven-day cooling off period to allow for change of mind without money loss, it recommends.

The lack of such guidelines has yet to deter the thousands of women currently taking the cut here.