I live in Hunterswood and the recent changes to the bus service have seen a vast improvement to public transport in the area. When I first moved in we were totally reliant on the 49 which was a brutal service. The 74 and 74a were a big improvement but the extension of the 15 and 15B routes are far better. The buses are now really regular and you can just wander out on spec to wait for one as opposed to consulting timetables and knowing if you miss one you could be waiting 45 minutes for the next.
There hasn't been much trouble in the area re car parks (apart from a few incidents at Hunters Hall) and, although there can be some scangery looking teenagers hanging around the shops at Woodlawn I've never had any trouble up there.
I agree with Truthseeker though that Knocklyon is probably a nicer area than Firhouse. It has a decent shopping centre and a better school for starters and is that bit closer to places like Bushy Park, or the restaurants in Terenure and Rathfarnham.
I'm from Rathfarnham myself originally and would really love to be able to move back around there someday. In the meantime, though, there are far worse places than Hunterswood.