I've completed two safepass courses over the last few years.
what the course was like, was the instructor any good.
The first course, done through a local authority while working with them, had an excellent instructor. Lots of real life experience included in the presentations and lots of additional detail on general safety not specifically related to the Safepass. The course itself is very basic, but as with anything... if the speaker has a keen interest/knowledge, they can make it interesting/beneficial.
The second course was done through a private company with one of the many external trainers used to give the course. This one was very poor. Many of the questions raised (to be fair, it was an engineering consultancy [where many of the staff would have years of specialist safety training] so not really the main targets of the safepass scheme) were above the head of the instructor and most of the benefit was from the discussion from within the group rather than from the instructor.
How long did it take to get the card
It took in or around five months to recieve the card approx a year ago. I have heard of it taking far longer for some so I'd say it depends on the instructor and the location for the exact time. You should recieve (but request it to be safe) a letter confirming your completion of the course, which should be proof enough until the actual "card" turns up.
and why did it cost so much. If you have done it , do you think it was worth it?
On the latter, I didn't feel it provided good value for money compared to other safety training I have done (in-house company training, CPD safety training events etc.). It is however the required standard for anyone wishing to set foot on an Irish site so must be completed!
As for why it cost so much.... I'd assume it's for the reason mentioned above. It must be done, so they can charge a fair (or unfair depending how you look at it) price. It is a day long training course (with sporadic checks by FAS on the instructors, so I'd have question marks over trainers doing it in less than a day!) so personally I don't think the price is too bad, I'm just one of the many who feel that the course itself should be a little tougher (I have yet to meet / hear of anyone who has failed the safepass course).