Re: PhD advice
Commitment involved: Inappreciable at first, overwhelming at finish. Manageable in-between. But please don’t be discouraged.
Getting funding: Depends on your area of study. What do other PhD students in your prospective area of study do? It also depends on the boss. Is s/he good at attracting funding? A quick look at how many people they have in their research group will answer that. Besides, if they want you bad enough, they will find the funding.
Skills required: Not a lot. Desire mainly. Also, an aptitude in your chosen field and a healthy dose of bloody-mindedness.
With respect to the above posts, I agree that choosing the right supervisor is important. The problem unfortunately is that you don't necessarily know who is good or bad before you start. Since the OP is a lecturer, s/he already has the advantage of seeing first hand the supervisors and programmes available in his/her institution. For most, this is not the case.
Anyhow, regardless of supervisor, for those thinking of embarking on their PhD, you might want to consider the following…
If you want your PhD quickly (3-4 years), don't do synthetic chemistry.
If you want a career in academia, a prestigious university and/or supervisor helps. This can be "got around" by publishing your work in fairly decent journals. Check which journals your soon-to-be-supervisor has published in. Perhaps more important is checking how many times their previous work has been cited as compared to peers in their field. Added bonus to anybody who spends time abroad (post-doc researching, not drinking).
If you are educating yourself to enter the civil service of Ireland, stop now. Your grade increase (to 10 as apart from 8 with a degree) is not worth the time and lost earnings that you will need to spend on your study. Not one person in the employment of the state will appreciate your "so-called" dedication to self-improvement. If you join the service after you are 25, you will not be accepted. In fact, you will be shunned in canteens across the land as an elitist.
If your PhD is in a technical discipline, you will more than likely be over-qualified for most positions in private enterprise in Ireland. We don't do private research. In fact, the most important people on the private factory floor of this fair nation are those that control the manufacturing process. A brief chat with these younger, higher earning and more important folk will only result in depression. Best avoided by lack of post-graduate education.
Despite the above, a PhD is an incredible accomplishment and not to be dismissed lightly. It demonstrates that (at least for one topic) you have taken all the information at hand, considered it, and offered an unbiased, and hopefully original, point of view. This immediately ranks you above all politicians, news anchormen and pub know-it-alls. In fact, it earns you absolute respect amongst all your peers.