People who buy holiday packages online are to be afforded the same protection as those who use travel agents.

The European Parliament has approved draft rules on the issue.

Consumers will be entitled to receive clear information on the deal and who is ultimately responsible if anything goes wrong.

Fine Gael MEP Deirdre Clune has said it will apply to all aspects of the holiday package.

“If you are buying a number of products in a package like the flight, the car hire and the hotel, and one of them is substandard, doesn’t come up to scratch or doesn’t exist maybe, when you get there,” Ms Clune said.

“Then there will be some compensation or they will be entitled to their rights and also it means that when you buy the package the consumer rights will be delivered to you, it will be spelled out for you exactly what your rights are having bought this package.”