All correct in part, BUT...
The reason the PPL/IR is so rare in the UK is the difficulty of getting one. I would like to have a CAA or JAA IR, but I don't want to spend several months of my life memorising irrelevant initiation rite material to pass the exam.
I have an FAA PPL/IR, because that IS achievable by an "ordinary person" who does enough practice and training to be capable of flying to the standards required. It's still not easy, but it is within the grasp of ordinary mortals. And in the USA, the percentage of pilots with an IR is *far* higher than in Europe. No coincidence.
I prefer to fly in nice VMC, but if the weather should clag up, I like to know I can probably get home.