Hiring a driver for Ireland trip

In 2019 we had a private driver for one day out of Dublin for 3 passengers. It was €400.00 cash. More if we paid by card. I don't know what the cost would be 4.5 years later.

I contacted 3 private drivers to take us around the Burren from Doolin and drop off in Kinvara for Aug 2024. It's a full day tour for 3 people. One responded quickly with a quote EUR 500. One responded a month later with a quote EUR 450, The other did not respond.
This is a splurge for us, the rest of the trip we will rely on public transport and local group tour.
I ended up booking with the first one, just because they responded quickly. They don't need credit card to guarantee booking.

My husband and I have booked a 15 day trip for this August. It is a celebration trip for my husband's retirement and 65th birthday. We will also be exploring his ancestry routes. We have driven in Scotland previously but decided this go we would splurge and hire a driver and tour guide. We really like to keep our own schedule and tend toward off the beaten track, so we wanted a private driver. For small groups Rabbies and Vagabond/Driftwood were responsive and have some nice options. We would have considered either of them if we didn't want private. We are going with Little Gems. It is highly personalized and small family operation. I have been working with Rosie for logistics. This tour includes a driver and guide from 9:30 to 5:30 daily, accommodations and some of the fees. It is not inexpensive but so far we are thrilled with the responsiveness and flexibility. They will also help us with exploring my husband's genealogy. I'll include the link. It doesn't hurt to talk to Rosie and get a quote for what you want. https://www.littlegemtours.com/

Warm greetings from Ireland, thats great that youre considering hiring a private driver for some of your Irish adventures.
Its a great way to go.
€500 is a good general starting price for day hire, but of course this will depend on a number of factors such as the itinerary, the driving hours, the quality/size of the vehicle, will the driver require meals and overnight accommodation as part of your itinerary etc etc
Understandably its not going to be so cost-effective if there are only two people, Private hire vehicles can legally carry up to 8 passengers and usually the price for 8 people is the roughly the same for 2 people because the costs for the driver/operator are the same.
Private hire in Ireland is a very good investment of your travel resources in my opinion, its time efficient and therefore cost-effective.
It can be perceived as expensive when compared to public transport but when you read into the mind-blowing amount of bureaucracy, special licensing, vehicle inspections, special insurance and red-tape that driver/operators have to go through, then I think you'll understand.
I have some 8 seater private-hire vehicles and the paperwork isn't fun :)

Note: Ireland is blessed with an abundance of great private drivers but just make sure your Driver/operator is SPSV licensed. The vehicle must have a green circle disc on the front and back windscreen. The driver also must hold an SPSV license. If not, its a seriou offence, its quite a big problem if you were stopped by the government officials (they regularly show up at sites like the Cliffs of Moher and go around checking vehicles and drivers to make sure they have SPSV status) and you would also have insurance problems in the unlikely event of an accident.
[The Irish regulations on private-hire can be found here:][1]
https://www.nationaltransport.ie/taxi/operating-an-spsv/

Best wishes on your journey around Ireland.
Le meas/with respect
Stephen McPhilemy
Ireland guide for 25 years...