The whole country outside of four urban centres is an absolute nightmare if you don’t drive, and just not conductive to establishing a family anywhere.
To be honest I don't think this is a specific problem of Ireland, outside the urban centers the only option to move is to drive. There is not a critical mass for a public transportation system, expecially if you need to connect many small (< 20k people) urban centers.
That would be stupid, but that a bicyclists use a high visibility jacket is not, too many time on the road (in Italy, but I suppose everywhere else) you cross bicyclists at night or late evening that are basically invisible until the last moment: no light, wear black clothes (and often in the wrong direction).
True, maybe also the road should be better illuminated, but that a bicyclists make himself visible is not a stupid idea.