I agree with redsnail. They are two different skills. You would be as well to go for the CPL first in my view, especially if you have recently been flying visually single-engine/hours building etc.
The JAA CPL has some instrument elements to it but I would suggest that you are better off, if not financially (and there are marginal amounts involved usually given the total outlay), progressing through to the CPL. That way you have a CPL stand-alone licence and could decide at a future date to gain your multi-engine rating and your IR i.e. if, for example, you felt that it was worth going straight on to a flight instructors rating after completing your CPL.
Some advice though, if you are flying in the UK, try and get your CPL done when the weather is better. I did mine during the winter and it proved very frustrating and expensive as I kept losing momentum due to bad weather. Even though there were many days that I saw the IR students flying in conditions that I could not go up in, I do not regret getting my CPL first.
Good luck!
Last edited by airshowpilot; 29th May 2003 at 21:18.