World Consumer Day, held last week to raise awareness of consumer issues, passed most Irish people by.

But if the March 15th event was largely ignored by the general public, consumer activists were busy introducing guides on pricing and food safety, and gearing up for the battles ahead.

Gone are the days when the buying public received scant attention from Government or industry. Instead, the consumer and his/her concerns have steadily moved up the agenda.

Among the recent successes in consumer legislation was the introduction earlier this year of disclosure requirements in the financial services industry - long a bugbear of the consumer lobby.

The new legislation means that banks and life assurance companies can no longer hide behind jargon when selling life and pension investments but have to explain fully the products, and their charges, upfront.

Meanwhile, airline passengers are the latest beneficiaries of consumer legislation. Since March 1st, airlines must include tax and other charges when advertising the price of flights.

However, according to Mr Dermot Jewell, chief executive of the Consumers Association of Ireland (CAI), much still remains to be done. He identifies the introduction of the euro next year and the rules governing e-commerce as two of the key areas of consumer activity in the financial sector in the months ahead.

The CAI, an independent lobby group working on behalf of the consumer, will be watching closely to ensure that the changeover to the euro does not lead to unwarranted price rises that leave the consumer out of pocket.

Policing the changeover will be the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs (ODCA). Ms Carmel Foley of the ODCA says it is important that consumers have confidence in the single currency.

Ms Foley says inspectors are being trained in the area and her office is already running checks on the prevalence of dual Irish pound/euro pricing and the accuracy of it.

A voluntary code of practice relating to the implementation of the euro has also been drawn up and those businesses signed up to it will display a logo.

"We are advising consumers to shop where they see the logo," Ms Foley says.

The introduction of the euro should make pricing across the euro zone far more transparent, providing opportunities for greater cross-border trade and bargain hunting by consumers. But there is a lot to be done before the single European market becomes a reality for consumers, says Ms Tina Leonard of the European Consumer Centre (ECC).

The ECC, which is based in Dublin's O'Connell Street and provides advice to consumers, believes better access to information, to the market and to remedy if things go wrong are necessary to create a fully functioning internal market in the EU.

In an effort to address the issue of remedy, the centre is involved in the creation of an alternative dispute resolution network that will operate across the EU. It is designed to provide consumers with some means of redress if they are unhappy with purchases made abroad. However, Ms Leonard says the network, which was due to be established by the summer, is unlikely to be up and running by then as there is still a lot of work to be done. Another significant development on the financial front is the establishment of a new regulatory authority to oversee the financial services industry.

The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority will take over the Central Bank's prudential role in the supervision of the financial health of the Republic's banks but will also have responsibility for consumer protection.

Consumer groups will be watching carefully to see how well the new institution meets its consumer obligations. The CAI's finance spokesperson, Mr Eddie Hobbs, says that among the issues it is keen to see tackled is the blurring of the line between banks' retail operations and other services such as asset management and life assurance.

E-commerce, an area fraught with difficulties for the consumer, is also a growth area for the consumer protection industry internationally.

An Irish consumer buying something online from a retailer in Japan is unlikely to have much legal comeback if he is dissatisfied. A lot of work in this area is focusing on alternative dispute resolution methods such as the possibility of cyber tribunals.

Data security and payment methods remain areas of concern.

However, progress in the Republic has been slow, with the EU's distance-selling directive - which aims to improve consumer rights in relation to goods bought by mail order, telephone or over the Internet - yet to make it onto Irish statute books.

According to a spokeswoman for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the legislation should be passed into law in August.

Finally, helping consumers to consume is just one side of the story. One of the big subjects of debate among consumer groups, and a priority of the Swedish presidency of the EU, is sustainable consumption.

As the Director of Consumer Affairs, Ms Foley, points out, it is no longer enough to just "consume, consume, consume" without any regard for the environment.