GPS Rental Prices in Ireland

Many people choose to rent a GPS device at the time of renting a car. It is easy to understand the appeal of renting a GPS device while you are in a foreign country and have no local knowledge. This article is going to look at the main providers of Car Rentals in Ireland and the cost of renting a GPS device per day and per week.

Company		Daily Rate	Weekly Rate
Thrifty Car Rental	-	€10 Per Day	€50 Per Week
Atlas Car Hire	-	€10 Per Day	€50 Per Week
County Car Rental	-	€9 Per Day	€63 Per Week
Irish Car Rental	-	€10 Per Day	€70 Per Week
Hertz	-	€10 Per Day	€70 Per Week
Europe Car	-	€15 Per Day	€105 Per Week
Budget Car Rental	-	€15 Per Day	€105 Per Week
Avis	-	€15 Per Day	€105 Per Week
Others		Daily Rate	Weekly Rate
Sat Nav Hire***	-	€8 Per Day	€56 Per Week

With the Garmin 200w pictured above available for sale in Ireland at with UK/Ireland maps for €159.72.

***Sat Nav Hire.ie is available to Irish residents only and works on a postal system. Deposits of either €275 or €400 are required depending on the length of the rental.

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The Ultimate GPS Resource for Ireland

This is the third article in this series which brings together a list of resources for traveling in Ireland. Topics covered here encompass the whole range of GPS resources and tools I can think of.

Points of Interest

- My POIS
This website is probably the best resource for downloading both free and premium points of interest for your GPS. The POIS are installed directly from the website onto your GPS device. Included in the free resources are Speed Enforcement Zones, RSA Danger Zones, Petrol Stations and much much more

- GPS POI for Ireland
A collection of free POIs related to Road Safety, Shopping, Restaurants, Accommodation and Tourit Attractions

Sat Nav Hire

- Sat Nav Hire
Rent a GPS system for €8 a day while visiting Ireland.

Outdoor Pursuits

- Mountain Views
A GPS resource for Hill Walkers in Ireland with over 450 members. There is a huge database of mountains with waypoints available.

- Shannon Charts
Detailed charts of the River Shannon

Car Rental Information

- Thrifty Car Rental GPS Tools
Thrifty Car Rental have provided their locations, and the locations of petrol stations located near their depots in GPS format ready to be installed onto any device.

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Famous Historic Sites of Dublin

There is a lot to see in Dublin. In fact there are loads to see in Dublin, far too much to fit in one short article. However, we will attempt to guide you through some of the Irish capital’s favorite historic sites and artifacts.

The Book of Kells
Housed in Trinity College in Dublin city centre, The Book of Kells is one of Ireland’s most famous historic artifacts. The Book of Kells was completed in about 800AD. This is a beautiful gospel transcription that was painstakingly produced over a number of years. It is on display all year except for 10 days around Christmas and the New Year. Entry is €8 for an adult or €16 for a family.

Dublin Castle
If you walk out of Trinity College’s main gates and keep going straight up Dame Street you will come to Dublin Castle on your left. It is situated on a historically strategic location overlooking the River Liffey. A Gaelic ring fort and a Viking fortress are thought to have stood on this spot before the current buildings were constructed. Long the seat of British power in Ireland, it is now the venue for state functions among other things. Entry is €4.50 for adults and €2 for children.

Dublin Castle - Picture by Coriordan

Christ Church Cathedral
Continue further up Dame Street and you will come to Christ Church Cathedral. Distinctive because of its arch which crosses over a busy street, it is Dublin’s oldest building built around 1030 AD by Sitriuc, King of the Dublin Norsemen. Entry costs €5 for adults.

Christ Church Cathedral - by Infomatique

St Patrick’s Cathedral
Just a stone’s throw away is Dublin’s other great cathedral. St Patrick’s Cathedral has a rich history. The writer Jonathan Swift was Dean of St Patrick’s from 1713 to 1747. During this time, in 1742 to be exact, Handel’s Messiah received its first performance. Admission is €5 for adults and €12 for families.

St Patrick's Cathedral - by MaestroBen

For more ideas on what to do while in Dublin, please see The Top 10 Things to Do in Dublin Before You Die. Some of the attractions mentioned would require a car rental.

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Returning a Rental Car – Petrol Stations

Often when dropping back a car rental there is so much going on that finding a petrol station to bring the car back full can end up very far down the list of priorities. The minor detail of bringing the car back full if you have not prepaid for a tank of fuel can be easily sacrificed when pressed for time. The cost of refueling the car yourself as opposed to paying the rental company rates is significantly cheaper.

At the time of booking the car this minor detail may not be a big concern, but the last thing you will want is additional charges on your credit card. Obviously it costs the car rental company in terms of fuel and labour to refill the car but the end result can be very expensive. You may have the best intentions in the world of bringing the car back full, but you more than likely will not know the area in which you are renting.

Thrifty Car Rental

Often, finding the rental return depot by itself can be challenge enough without needing to refuel. With all of this in mind, Thrifty Car Rental Ireland have just released GPS data files containing the exact position of their locations and a selection of surrounding petrol stations which can be downloaded by anybody from their website. They have also created a series of interactive Google Maps of their locations and the petrol stations surrounding their depots.

- Map of Petrol Stations
- Petrol Stations near Dublin Airport Depot
- Petrol Stations near Dublin City Depot
- Petrol Stations near Shannon Airport Depot
- Petrol Stations near Cork Airport Depot

Using these interactive maps anybody without a GPS can find out information about petrol stations near their locations. Each major road to and from a location has a selection of recommended petrol stations for added ease of use.

Petrol Stations Near Dublin Airport Thrifty Returns Depot

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- Pumps.ie
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Donegal Castle

Donegal Castle c. 1890 - 1900

Located in the very center of Donegal town in County Donegal, Donegal Castle — or O’Donnell’s Castle — underwent extensive restorations in the late 1990s, bringing it back from the near ruin in which it had sat for the greater part of the past two centuries. It now makes a wonderful attraction for tourists who don’t mind traveling a little out of their way in order to see the truly unique— as so many if Ireland’s castles are.

Donegal Castle was built at the start of the sixteenth century by the O’Donnell family chieftain. The O’Donnells had been the ruling Gaelic family in the town of Donegal for over a thousand years, until they at last departed Ireland in 1607. Situated beside the lovely River Eske, Donegal Castle features the unique attraction of numerous seventeenth-century additions made by Sir Basil Brooke.

Donegal Castle - Picture by Cullion

Today the Castle is furnished luxuriously and appropriately throughout, featuring lavish Persian rugs and numerous French tapestries. Visitors to the castle will be able to make free use of the numerous information panels on site that carefully chronicle the extensive family history of the castle’s various owners, beginning with the O’Donnell chieftains and running through the centuries to the Brooke family.

At the time of the departure of the O’Donnell family, Sir Basil Brooke then occupied the tower and commissioned a series of renovations on the original tower as well as constructing a lovely manor house that faced south. He also took care to reinforce the bawn-wall that encircled the Castle.

Thanks to a series of more recent renovations, the Castle is open to the public from the middle of June through to October, although access for disabled visitors is limited to the ground floor.

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Dublin Airport Information Map

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Information map showing the various services and departure gates at Dublin Airport. For more information on a particular item please click on the icon within the map.

Aer Lingus Plan to Save €74m

Controversy and Aer Lingus are never too far apart, particularly when it comes to cost saving practices and Unions. Aer Lingus have just announced plans to axe 1,500 jobs and plans to save €74 million annually. Details on the savings were not presented at the time of the announcement, but it is believed the company wants to shave €74million off current costs.

“[The cost reduction plan was]… a matter of urgency to deliver the substantial savings which are necessary to ensure the company’s long-term viability as an independent airline.” – Aer Lingus Board

Among the plans, Aer Lingus is set to outsource all ground staff at Dublin, Cork and Shannon Airports. Ground staffs include baggage handlers and catering staff and the move would see Aer Lingus virtually no longer directly employing ground staff in Ireland. Aer Lingus is also planning to outsource check-in staff, loaders and staff working in the cargo terminal. With regard to cabin crew, Aer Lingus proposes to close down its bases in Shannon Airport and London Heathrow Airport and in 2009 services to Boston, New York and San Francisco would be operated by cabin crew recruited in the US under revised terms and conditions. For staff remaining at Aer Lingus, a pay freeze would be introduced until the end of 2009 and new performance based contracts would be introduced.

“These proposed job losses… will effectively reduce Aer Lingus to a shell of its former self. Why should the people of the Midwest and indeed the whole western sea board have any confidence or loyalty in Aer Lingus when the company wants to shed its entire workforce who have for decades given loyal server to Aer Lingus” – Jan O’Sullivan – Limerick East Labour TD

Representatives from SIPTU, the biggest trade union within Aer Lingus met management on Wednesday (2nd October 2008) under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission and told the company they will oppose outsourcing of any part of the application. Taoiseach Brian Cowen said recently he hoped the industrial relations process would provide a forum to enable management and staff representatives discuss the issues and come up with solutions.

“The company also reiterated its intention to implement significant cost reductions across all of its operations. Following the board meeting, meetings will be arranged early next week at which the company will outline the specifics regarding their cost cutting proposals.” – SIPTU

It is widely understood that Aer Lingus informed SIPTU and the craft unions that it was forecasting a substantial loss during 2009 and that the forecasted revenue streams for Aer Lingus had deteriorated badly in recent months. Stockbrokers believe that Aer Lingus could lose up to €40million this year and up to €90 million during 2009.

“The board has agreed the need for this fundamental change in the cost base to ensure that the company remains competitive and is appropriately positioned to take advantage of future growth opportunities.” – Aer Lingus

Gerry McCormack, National Industrial Secretary for SIPTU said the union will wait for further details on the cost cutting proposals, but the union will not accept mass layoffs by Aer Lingus.

It has now emerged that SIPTU sill analyse legislation introduced after the Irish Ferries controversy in their fight against layoffs at Aer Lingus. The legislation (Protection of Employment) came into force last year and allows an independent panel to consider whether redundancies as opposed to situations where existing workers are replace by lower paid staff. If this is found to be the case, the issue can be referred to the Labour Court. If the Labour Court finds that an exceptional collective redundancy situation exists but employees are dismissed in any event, it is open to the workers to claim unfair dismissal and possibly receive compensation of up to five years’ pay.

Under the legislation, a Union has to be in dispute with a company before it can seek to refer a case to the independent panel which would explain the decision by the union to ballot members immediately for all-out industrial action.

“The country is in recession and unemployment is rising. To export jobs during a recession is unacceptable, and we will fight any attempts to do that. That fight begins by talking with management.” – Christina Carney, Impact Union

Whatever the developments over the next two months, Aer Lingus is no stranger to strike actions and standing up to unions in recent times. Any proposed strike action will have devastating effects on the tourism economy in Ireland during this recession with hotels and car rentals at Dublin Airport service providers

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- Siptu may use new law to oppose job cuts at Aer Lingus
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How to Pay the M50 Toll Bridge Toll

There is a lot of confusion around over how to pay the new barrier free M50 Toll. I hope to address these issues in this post and give people some information on how to pay toll. Most confusion seems to be arising out of post paying the toll. Most Irish residents are well briefed on the particulars of paying for the toll. For tourists either renting a car or visiting Ireland in a car, the third option is most relevant.

Option 1: Tag Registration

The easiest way to pay the M50 toll is with an electronic tag. To receive an electronic tag you will need to register with one of the many providers. The toll costs €2 although most providers charge a €1 per month administration fee. Every time you pass through the toll with an electronic tag your account gets debited the cost of the toll. Your account is topped up automatically when your balance runs low and in effect is a pre-paid system.

For more information about the electronic tag operators please click here. The electronic tags work on all toll roads in Ireland but this option is not a viable one for tourists.

Option 2: Video Registration

The second automatic payment based system is a vehicle number plate based payment account. If you have a video registration account, you will be debited for each journey over the Toll Bridge that you make. Accounts can be either pre paid or post paid and tolls cost €2.50.

The video registration system only works on the M50 but there is no monthly account management or registration fee. This system is again not suitable for tourists or car rental customers.

Option 3: Post Payment

The third option is to post pay by 8pm the following day after using the toll bridge. The toll for post paying is €3. There are several options for post paying a toll:

- Pay Online
- Payzone Outlets
- Phone Payment

If a toll is not paid by 8pm the following day, a fine or penalty will be issued. If the toll has not been paid by 8pm the following day, a penalty or fine of €3 is added to the existing toll. If the toll and fine / penalty is not paid within 14 days an additional €40 will be added to the fines. Failure to pay the full amount due within a further 56 days will lead to an additional €100 penalty with legal proceedings to follow for non payment

Pay Online
Both tolls and fines can be paid online at eflow.ie. To pay the toll or fine you will need the registration plate of the vehicle used during the passage over the toll bridge.

Payzone Outlets
Payzone outlets are dotted throughout the country but can become sparse as you move further away from the toll bridge. You will need the vehicle registration number and can pay in many garages throughout the country

Phone Payment
The third option for post payment is over the phone. The Locall 1890 50 10 50 can be call from anywhere within Ireland.

Car Rental Customers

Unfortunately the toll bridge provide no additional supports or options to the car rental industry. If you rent a car from one of the many car rental companies in Ireland you will be responsible for the toll yourself. If you do not pay the toll, the car rental company will receive the fine and will charge an administration charge to pay the fines and deal with the matter.

Companies such as Thrifty Car Rental, Atlas Car Hire Ireland and Hertz Rent A Car will provide you with the information you need to pay for the toll in order to avoid fines and administration charges.

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M50 Toll Bridge Disaster Continues

Image by: Merrionsq

There were always going to be teething problems associated with the new barrier free M50 toll bridge system. However, the fact that over one month later the Toll Bridge is down to failing to read 10,000 cars a day can hardly be described as teething problems. Apart from this staggering figure, there are the added nightmares of people being charged and fined for not paying a toll when they have been nowhere near the M50 and the long hold times when you try to ring up to rectify a mistake and fines of €40 being issued before the grace period is up.

“According to the Department of Transport, the failure rate results from the system failing to read tags or misreading them, failures in reading number plates and human error in matching photos of number plates with registered tag holders.” – Irish Times – 1 October 2008

The backup plan for tags which can’t be read while passing through the toll has also failed in many cases, with fines being sent to tag holders. This author is a holder of an EazyPass tag, and I received an email during the week stating:

“If you are a registered customer with EazyPass and you have received an eFlow notice in relation to M50 tolls, eFlow confirms that all of these notices will be canceled and the original toll only (at the tag rate) will be transferred onto your tag account.”

I signed up for an EazyPass tag for the handiness factor and now I have to check my tag for charges on trips I didn’t make. I’m beginning to wonder why I have to do the job of the Toll collector.

Image by: Irish Typepad

A National Roads Authority spokesman stated: “We are eliminating the errors all the time.” He added that, when bedded in, the new electronic tolling system would be “the finest in the world”. Meanwhile Fergus O’Dowd, the Fine Gael transport spokesman gave a more accurate statement on the proceedings when he branded the chaos and failures as “appalling and disgraceful”. Mr O’Dowd said motorists had been warned about minor problems, but “in no way could this be branded as teething troubles”.

The issues associated with fleet management and car hire companies has been addressed in this blog previously. According to the Irish Times (24 September 2008), car hire and fleet companies are dealing with up to 100 fines a day in error. It is very hard for car hire and fleet companies to act as toll collectors if the toll company cannot even complete their basic function. It seems every method of paying the toll is faulty and Merrion Fleet Management have even been fined for tolls that were paid over the phone and had receipts for.

“Dublin-based Merrion Fleet Management said one member of staff is now working full time on attempts to sort out erroneous fines, while up to 12 other executives are spending about one hour a day on the problems.” Irish Times – 24 September 2008

The NRA stated they were aware of the issues and has set up a database for fleet and car hire companies. This is the same database that the car hire companies have opted out of, instead placing the responsibility for paying the fine with the customer.

Colm Brady of Thrifty Car Rental Ireland, which is asking customers to pay the tolls themselves, criticised the NRA for its failure to take on board industry concerns:

Despite the problems associated with tolls for cars that have actually travelled over the bridge, the fines being issued to drivers who never used the bridge are mystifying. Among the complaints are demands and fees for cars which it is claimed are off the road, for cars where the owner was abroad; for double charging; and complaints about the length of time it takes to get through to call centres. The long delays associated with phoning eFlow to sort out misapplied fines have resulted in people giving up and just paying the €40 fine even though they didn’t use the service.

AA Ireland have come out today and said that motorists should not pay fines on trips they have not taken.

“Motorists do not deserve this. The mess is not of their making, and they should not be expected to be the ones to resolve it. It is not reasonable to expect people to queue for ages to get through to a call centre. We are all busy enough. The NRA needs to put its house in order.”

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