balhambob, Martin4,
I'll try to answer both of your questions as fully as I can.
Martin4, I went to parc in Dublin for my MCC. There were several reasons for going there; ie, the course content and the fact it was a jet sim, the fact all the instructors are current/recent airline pilots, the network of contacts they have and the fact it came highly recommended from a personal friend who, not long after his course, got a job with my current employer.
balhambob,
With the greatest of respect, I'm not entirely sure who told you that being over 30 was not a problem, but in my experience, it certainly was. Even though from the getgo, having done my research (particularly the over 30 bit) I was always prepared and had budgeted for paying for a type rating.
A very well known European low cost carrier employed a friend of mine who was twenty four years of age. He trained at exactly the same schools as me, had roughly the same flying hours and pretty much the same flying experience. However, this particular airline wouldn't even talk to me because I was over thirty four years of age when I qualified. I was actually over thirty four by sixty days when I applied and initially it was a huge kick in the teeth.
Still, never liked the colour orange anyway!!
However, there are other carriers out there who don't look at just your age. They'll give you an assessment and look at you as a person, a pilot, evaluate you & give you a fair crack of the whip. If you pass, great, if you don't, then at least they've given you the coutesy of an opportunity. Not like some others out there.
However, in my experience, and I can honestly say, in the experince of a lot of my friends, having the will and ability to pay for a type rating, when over thirty certainly helps. I went to the BALPA job seekers conference and heard a speaker say "Being 30 means you should have 3000 hrs experience" or word to that effect. That spoke volumes to me.
Hope this helps