What makes the Irish passport the best in the world?

Irish citizens have one more reason to be proud Irish passport holders as the document has been rated the best in the world by the prestigious Nomad Passport Index.

Speaking on Newstalk's Lunchtime Live programme, journalist Joe O'Shea explained why Ireland has such an advantage in terms of the passport.

He said: "In the past few years, the UAE, Dubai, basically, was the place to go."

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The Swiss tax and immigration consultancy considers various factors when drawing up its list and this year Ireland came out on top.  

Joe added: “The Nordic countries have always done well. 

“What’s fascinating about it is that they’ve looked at Ireland and not just on the fact that we can travel well with our passport, but on a number of other criteria."

Joe outlined visa free travel, the taxation system, global perception and the ability to hold dual citizenship as advantages Irish passport holder have over passport holders from other countries.

The consultancy also takes into consideration what they describe as ‘personal freedoms’, which Ireland also scores highly on. 

Joe said: “There’s freedom of the press and no mandatory military service." 

“So, what they’re saying is, if you can pick one country in the world to live in, it should be Ireland.”