How basic is basic? Are you talking a €50-100 jobbie from Argos or the likes (avoid) or a €200-400 entry level turntable from a good brand? Cloney Audio in Blackrock (and the Dawson St. Tower Records) do the Rega RP1 for €300 which is a nice player. I think a similarly good Pro-Ject turntable would cost you about the same but not sure where stocks them in Dublin.
I would also check places like Adverts.ie and DoneDeal. I got my Rega Planar 2 on Adverts for €200 and aside from a hiccup with it yesterday, I have had nearly 6 years of heavy use out of it with no problems.
I think I could stretch to 300. Its a good chunk of cash but its a one-time thing, and I suppose I'd have it for good then.
Cheers though, I'll look into that (Rega RP1).