<P> Ireland's passport card was joint winner of the Best Regional ID Document at the High Security Printing Europe Conference in Bucharest, Romania in March 2016 . </P> <P> Visa requirements for Irish citizens are travel restrictions placed upon citizens of Ireland by the authorities of other states . In 2017, Irish citizens had visa - free or visa on arrival access to 173 countries and territories, jointly ranking the Irish passport 5th worldwide according to the Visa Restrictions Index . </P> <P> An Irish passport, legitimate or fraudulent, is viewed by many--including intelligence services and journalists--as a highly valuable and' safe' document due to Ireland's policy of neutrality . </P> <Ul> <Li> Oliver North (using the name "John Clancy") a United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel and a central figure in the Iran - Contra scandal, carried a false Irish passport while visiting Iran in 1986, as did his fellow covert operatives . This was part of a series of events that became known as the Iran--Contra affair . </Li> <Li> In December 2005, Ireland's Minister for Justice Michael McDowell accused journalist Frank Connolly of having travelled to Colombia in 2001 on a falsely obtained Irish passport in connection with the group known as the Colombia Three . Connolly, who worked at the Centre for Public Inquiry, (intended as a public watch - dog organisation), vigorously denied the allegation and in turn accused the Minister of abusing his position . </Li> <Li> On 19 January 2010, Mahmoud al - Mabhouh, a senior Hamas military commander, was assassinated in Dubai by a team involving at least 11 individuals, three of whom were initially reported as using counterfeit Irish passports . The number of forged Irish passports used in the killing was later revised upwards to eight following a Garda and Department of Foreign Affairs investigation . The Irish government responded by expelling a staff member of the Israeli Embassy in Dublin . It stated it considered "an Israeli government agency was responsible for the misuse and, most likely, the manufacture of the forged Irish passports associated with the murder of Mr. Mabhouh ." </Li> <Li> In June 2010 it was alleged that one of ten covert sleeper agents of the Russian government under non-official cover in the United States as part of the "Illegals Program" used a forged Irish passport issued in the name of "Eunan Gerard Doherty" to "Richard Murphy ." The Russian embassy in Dublin reportedly declined to comment on the allegations that its officials had used a counterfeit Irish passport . "Richard Murphy," who later identified himself as Russian national Vladimir Guryev, was repatriated to Russia, along with the other nine members of the Illegals Program, as part of a prisoner exchange . It later emerged that the passports of up to six Irish citizens may have been compromised by the Russian agents . This led to the expulsion of a Dublin - based Russian diplomat in February 2011 . </Li> </Ul>

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