The Irish passport has been rated the best in the world by the prestigious Nomad Passport Index. 

The Swiss tax and immigration consultancy considers various factors when drawing up its list and this year Ireland took the gold medal. 

“In the past few years, the UAE - Dubai basically - was the place to go,” journalist Joe O’Shea told Lunchtime Live.  

“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. 

“Visa free travel, taxation system, the global perception and the ability to hold dual citizenship.” 

An Irish Tricolour flag fluttering in the breeze. Picture by: loren file / Alamy Stock Photo

The organisation also factors in what they describe as ‘personal freedoms’, which Ireland also scores highly on. 

“There’s freedom of the press and no mandatory military service,” Mr O’Shea said. 

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

Main image: Elvira Griffin, originally from Russia now living in Dublin, poses for a photograph with her Irish passport following a Citizenship Ceremony at the RDS, Dublin. Picture by: Alamy.com