The days of Irish people accepting bad service and poor quality goods are over, Ms Caroline Gill, chief executive of the Consumers' Association of Ireland, says emphatically.

Seven years working with the consumers' group has taught her that the whole of society benefits when consumer interests are put first.

With interests ranging from the safety of food to the honesty of the banking sector, the Consumers' Association sees itself as a vehicle for ensuring accountability among those who provide the public with a service. Ms Gill says people are less worried about service with a smile, than service which means value for money.

However, she does not see herself as a warrior against business. "The main point I keep emphasising is that when you make a product or service more consumer-friendly, that product or service is immediately improved," she says. She adds that this is why businesses should embrace consumer rights and not back away because the concept is relatively new.

Even if Ms Gill wanted to be an anti-business crusader she would find it hard to perform such a role through the Consumers' Association. "We are grossly under funded and have only a small staff of 12; this means we can only concentrate on certain things and have to prioritise the issues we work on," she says.

Her first realisation of consumer rights came during her early trips abroad when the quality of service was often very low.

She considers it important that her own background includes periods working in business. "I worked for many years with an oil company, but I also spent time working with the Red Cross, so I've been on both sides of the fence."

The admission by National Irish Bank (NIB) that it improperly took money from certain customers' accounts is the most shocking event of Ms Gill's time with the Consumers' Association so far.

"When I saw RTE News that night, I was totally astounded, we heard rumours like this for years and had some individual complaints, but I never believed it could be so blatant and so organised," she says.

Her reaction to the whole affair is that the problems in banking rest mainly with the Central Bank, and not individual bank managers or other staff.

"We have concentrated our message on the need for a consumer representative on the board of the Central Bank," she says. She does not believe senior personnel in the Central Bank deliberately ignore the wider consumer interest, but it's just not a priority in Dame Street.

But would a single consumer representative on the board of the Central Bank make any difference? "At least it's a start," Ms Gill replies.

She sees the recent practices unearthed in Irish banking as part of a wider ethos based upon three words "profit, profit, profit".

"I think for banks and larger companies the shareholder has to be pleased at all costs. I have nothing against shareholders, they're wonderful, but I don't see why the customer should be less powerful than the shareholder," she says.

She concedes that with shareholders becoming more demanding, it will become increasingly difficult to balance the two competing demands.

Apart from seeking fairness in the banking industry, the energies of the association in recent years have been taken up with issues of food safety.

Ms Gill says proudly that the association believes its campaigning during the BSE controversy helped secure the establishment of the Food Safety Authority. But while welcoming this, she says it is alarming that there is still no requirement for people to be trained in the preparation of food.

"Much of the food we eat is still prepared by people who have not even done the most elementary things like wash their hands," she states.

Tackling the sleeping giants of the State sector, exposing the gaps between advertising and reality and seeking reforms in the financial services sector make her job infuriating at times. Reactions from companies to queries from the association and its magazine, Consumer Choice, range from stonewalling and evasion to complete non co-operation.

Ms Gill says the most important skill

for running the whole organisation is diplomacy.

"Diplomacy and tact are essential, but so is an ability to harness the energy and skills of the association's voluntary people so that you have team effort between them and the full-time personnel."

The changes since she took up the job of chief executive have been enormous. "When I first started, anyone who said they were speaking for consumers was just regarded as a crank, but now the reaction is a little more informed."

The association has 11,000 members who fund the organisation and Ms Gill says that when she lobbies she does it on their behalf. She admits that lobbying Irish-style is a specific skill.

"We have not been at it for as long as the IFA, but we are getting better." She says the organisation's message needs to be similar to water dripping from a tap onto a rock after a sustained period it leaves a permanent mark.

This drip-drip effect upon public opinion will soon be concentrated on what she regards as the sector most untouched by the consumer rights' movement the State-owned utilities.

She says the service provided to customers by CIE, the ESB, Bord Gais Eireann and Telecom Eireann is already being put under the microscope, but she expects it to intensify even further. CIE, she believes, needs radical change.

"Now that airlines have brought innovative and reduced fare structures to air travel, isn't it time for competition on our railways," she asks.

"Given a range of departures and more competitive fares, passengers would be more likely to consider using the railways instead of clogging up busy and dangerous roads," she says.

Challenging State-owned utilities should be seen positively, she says, resulting in cheaper electricity, telephones and transport. She says that with rising levels of prosperity and education these will become the most basic demands.

Education is something she values and she sees it as particularly liberating for women. "If a woman feels it's hard to get on in the workplace or even to get back into it, then education is the key that will open everything for her," she says.

While a lot of her free time is spent outdoors, playing tennis and walking, she admits she has a tendency to bring her work with her. "I do tend to notice bad service if I'm in a restaurant more than others might." She says this does not make her a difficult customer and she refuses to let it spoil a night out.

"When I am confronted by issues which involve a poor service to the consumer, it just makes me more determined to correct them as part of my work," she says. She is fond of reminding people that we are all consumers.