WE'RE barely midway through summer -- and already two Irish travel agents have gone to the wall.

One of the country's biggest travel agents, Toolin Travel, went bust earlier this month. Greystones Travel in Co Wicklow collapsed in mid-May. With the Irish recession now a year old -- and showing no signs of abating -- the list could get longer. Many travel agents, tour operators and airlines are struggling to keep their heads above water.

You may still be determined to get your holiday in the sun -- but with holiday money tight, the last thing you'll do is take any chances with it. So is there anything you can do to make sure your hard-earned holiday doesn't go up in smoke or burn a larger hole in your pocket than you can afford?

Use a licensed travel agent

Although special flight offers are very tempting, remember you are not entitled to compensation if you book directly with an airline that goes bust. Flights booked directly with an airline are not covered by any consumer protection or compensation scheme.

Most Irish travel agents and tour operators, however, are covered by a compensation scheme run by the Irish aviation authority, the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR). Under this scheme, if you are stranded abroad after an Irish operator or agent goes bust, CAR will usually cover the cost of alternative flights home. If your agent or operator goes bust before you go on holiday, and your holiday is cancelled as a result, you'll also be entitled to a refund.

Don't assume that every Irish agent or operator is covered by CAR's scheme. To be eligible for compensation, the company you booked with must be licensed by CAR. Check this on CAR's website (www.aviationreg.ie/ Licence_holders) or call the regulator on (01) 6611700. You should also check when the company's licence expires -- if it expires before you're due to fly, you could be in trouble.

If booking through an agent or operator based outside Ireland, check that it is licensed by the aviation regulator in that country -- and that any compensation offered by the foreign regulator extends to you.

"If you're booking through a British travel agency, make sure the compensation applies to those living in the Republic," said a spokesman for the CAR. "It's very much buyer beware when you go on to a website. If you book a hotel through a travel website, the hotel isn't necessarily covered by a compensation scheme. Even if it is, the compensation may not cover bookings made from Ireland."

Rugby and football fans snapping up last-minute match deals on websites should do their research before making a booking. Find out the name of the company behind the offer and whether you are eligible for compensation should that company go bust.

Use your vouchers

Holiday gift vouchers, which allow you to book a holiday with a travel agent or tour operator, are not covered by CAR's scheme.

If an operator or agent goes bust before you use its gift voucher to buy a holiday, you'll probably lose the value of that voucher, and you won't be entitled to any compensation.

Prepare for the worst with travel insurance

A few years ago, your biggest concern when choosing travel insurance may have been whether it covered your bungie jump off a bridge in New Zealand or your white-water rafting in the Canadian Rockies.

Today, chances are a host of other concerns are playing on your mind: could your travel agent go bust; could a strike by disgruntled airline workers delay your flight and cause your to miss your international connection; and will your travel insurance cover you if you're unlucky enough to run into one of these problems?

Not all insurers cover you if you lose money after arranging a flight or holiday with a company that goes bust before -- or while -- you travel. Let's say, for example, you book a return flight to Europe directly with an airline. AIB's multi-trip travel insurance does not cover you if the airline goes bust and your flight is cancelled as a result. Neither does the annual travel insurance provided by Aer Lingus, Bank of Ireland, getcover.com and VHI. The annual Premier policy offered by multitrip.com provides up to €1,000 cover for the collapse of a scheduled airline, while Premier Plus pays up to €2,000.

Let's say your travel agent goes bust and you find you're not entitled to a refund because the company is not covered by CAR's -- or any other regulator's -- compensation scheme. Unless you've been very picky with your travel insurance, chances are you won't get compensation from that either.

The annual travel insurance sold by AIB, Aer Lingus, Bank of Ireland, getcover.com and VHI does not cover holidays booked with a travel agent that collapses before you jet off (or while you're away). Ciaran Mulligan, joint managing director of Blue Insurances, which sells multitrip.com, said that multitrip.com's Premier and Premier Plus policies provide third-party supplier insolvency insurance, which would cover such an eventuality. The cover is €1,000 under Premier and €2,000 under Premier Plus.

"The third-party supplier insolvency cover also applies to hotels, car hire companies, car ferries, theme parks, coach operators, and accommodation providers," says Mulligan. The Premier and Premier Plus policies cover "lightning strikes" -- useful if an unplanned strike or work stoppage at an airport causes you to miss your flight and arrive at your hotel two days later than expected. As many hotels have cancellation policies that charge you the full price of the room if you don't cancel within a certain timeframe, a sudden work stoppage or strike could leave you seriously out of pocket.

Swine flu

About 10 days ago, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global swine flu pandemic. As the swine flu has spread to 74 countries since it first emerged in Mexico in April, a major outbreak in your holiday destination of choice could make it unsafe to travel there.

If you simply get cold feet about travelling because of swine flu, your travel insurance is unlikely to cover you for a holiday cancellation. However, if the WHO or Irish Government advised against non-essential travel to a country because of swine flu, your policy should cover you. For example, if you bought a VHI MultiTrip policy since last March, you are entitled to up to €10,000 cover if you cancelled or cut back a trip booked or started before "a government directive prohibiting all travel to, or recommending evacuation from the country or area you were planning to visit or were staying in, as a result of natural disasters (such as earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes) or epidemics".

Pricey wheels

That road trip you've been dreaming about for years could turn into one hell of a nightmare if you don't do your homework on car hire. Don't just shop around car-hire companies or packages for price -- avoid any which have restrictive contracts.

For example, if you're hiring a camper van in Australia from Britz, you have the option to buy excess reduction to reduce the cost of any damage you would have to pay for should the vehicle be damaged or cause damage to another car. As it costs between €11 and €28.30 a day for excess reduction, this option could bump up the cost of a month's car hire by up to €880.

However, if you don't take it out, a security deposit of A$7,500 (about €4,300) will be charged to your credit card when you pick up your camper van.

"For this reason, it is important that the hirer have the funds available on the credit card (to cover this A$7,500)," states the Britz contract. The contract later explains that a customer who does not take out the excess reduction option will have to pay the first A$7,500 "of the cost of damage to third-party property or to the rented vehicle, including single-vehicle accident, windscreen and tyre damage, towing and recovery costs, theft, fire, break-in or vandalism". The A$7,500 must be paid "regardless of who is at fault and will be refunded if Britz is successful in recovering the cost of the damages from the third party. Third-party claims can take months to resolve."

Ann Neville, manager of the European Consumer Centre in Dublin, says consumers should "pay particular attention to the extent of their financial liability in the event of damage or accident" when hiring a car. "In particular, we would warn consumers to watch out for "extras" such as the cost of an additional driver," she says.