Hi Jason,
Youe have many options to consider and if you are located in Waterford it might be worth doing your PPL with Waterford Aero Club or Atlantic in Cork as they are on your doorstep, advantage is you do your training while at home and in your own time get a JAA PPL and can hour build while at home and you dont need to front such a large sum. You can then go on and do your MEP/CPL/IR with any of the trainging schools at home or abroad.
Taggs