If you are an actual learner driver, you need to have a red ‘L’ sticker on the car, and learners aren’t allowed on motorways (roads with an ‘M’- like M5 or A1(M)), and you shouldn’t be displaying one if you’re not a learner. I mean, people do just leave them on sometimes and I’ve never heard of anyone actually getting into trouble (one of my co-workers has had them on her car for years, after her daughter learned to drive), but a rental car showing them? Nah, best not.
You can stick a green ‘P’ sticker on if you like, which indicates an inexperienced driver and doesn’t come with rules.
I strongly recommend that you don’t just rely on just checking the policies. You never know what you may have missed and it may not mention Ireland specifically anyway and would include it under “EU”
Speak to a real person at the hire firm and tell them exactly what you are doing, that you are taking the hire car on the ferry to Ireland and get them to positively confirm that no further arrangements or payments are required because I would expect that the very minimum they would expect is that you inform them that you are taking it out of the country.
You can easily find yourself fully liable for anything that happens to the car and your CDW from your own insurance will almost certainly have a clause that requires you to operate the vehicle within the hire company’s requirements.
B&B staff* tend to be the family whose house you are staying in, so there’s no need to tip them. A nice gift like you propose will be appreciated. For guides and the like though, I highly recommend tipping them in cash.
- In England and Ireland anyway, no idea about Norway