You alarm me considerably, Brendan, with regards to the double taxation situation! I own property in Romania through my romanian company and shouldn't have thought that I would be liable for CGT in Ireland if ever I were to sell it (which is definitely not on the cards for the medium to long term).
Perhaps the best advice to spider would be to establish a company, if that becomes necessary, in the country in which he intends to buy. But I, as director of an irish company too, totally agree with you regards the admin nightmare of living in one country and administering a legal entity in another country!