Could UberCab work in Ireland?

UberCab contracts with black car services mostly Towncars and Escalades. Theres a lot of unused inventory in those businesses and they are happy to work with someone who eats up that inventory. As a user you download an iPhone app (I have it on my iPad) and add your credit card information (thats the last time you ever have to deal with that). When you want a car to pick you up you hit a button. The app knows where you are and finds a car and driver nearby. The driver accepts via his/her own iPhone app, and you then get to watch them come to you on a map with a pretty darn good estimate of the number of minutes it will take for them to get there. When they arrive you get in the car and tell the driver where you want to go. When you get there you see the charges and accept them, which are then billed to your credit card, tip included. A receipt is emailed to you. And then each side gets to rate the other I love the fact that the driver rates the passenger, too.

This is an absolutely genius idea. What would the drivers need in Ireland? A hackney licence I'm guessing? Or even that?

We were once charged 70 to take a cab from Cork to Bandon (27km). Never ever again. But since there is a constant flow of cars between the two locations, I'm sure plenty of people would happily make a few extra quid on the side by signing up for this.

The rating system would hopefully deal with concerns that women might have about getting into a car with a stranger. They would only use UberCabs that have a lot of very positive ratings.

Pipedream or actually possible here?