Dimond, three are a number of options to invest in abroad, in Romania and Bulgaria you can pick up places that are attractively priced, especially if you just want to sit on them.
Liking for rental returns is difficult to work with from your investment pot. When you add in commissions, taxes, processing fees etc, something that was once only 45-50,000 goes up usually 10%, leaving nothing for furnishing etc.
We've had an increasing number of folks buying plots and then building on them, it's a handy way to go, depending on where you want to be, and means you have your own personality on the place. It seems that more Irish people don't just want to walk in and buy an apartment or house, but prefer to go a cheaper route by buying a plot and building.
Oh, and rentals are all dependant on you, in Croatia you can get really good returns by focussing on the solid and established eastern market (Czechs, Hungarians, Poles) while increasing your return with western visitors, instead of just focussing on the intransigient UK-Irish market.