Ireland one of the safest holiday spots for LGBT tourists

IRELAND has been named one of the safest countries in the world for LGBT tourists.

A new study of more than 150 countries ranked Norway as the safest country while Nigeria was rated the most dangerous.

Ireland, the first nation in the world to approve same-sex marriage by a popular vote, was listed as the 15th safest country in the rankings.

In Nigeria, homosexuality risks a 14 year-prison sentence while its northern states, under sharia law, have the death penalty for people convicted of same-sex ‘offences’.

Qatar is listed as the second most dangerous country, where any homosexual act can result in up to three years in prison, flogging or the death penalty.

Using international data, the study carried out by travel website Asher & Lyric created an LGBT danger index.

It was calculated from figures on same-sex marriage rights, worker protections, discrimination protections, criminalisation of violence, adoption recognition, illegal same-sex relationships and propaganda or morality laws.

A spokesperson for Asher & Lyric said Ireland scored well in most of the eight factors used to determine the index.

“The areas where Ireland could improve are with the criminalisation of LGBT violence, broader protections against discrimination and extending workplace protections to include gender identity,” the spokesperson said.

Ireland officially decriminalised homosexuality as late as 1993 but made history when it became the first country to vote to allow same-sex marriage on May 22, 2015.

Some 26 countries have joined Ireland in marriage equality, and it is to become legal in Costa Rica next year.

The study found the safest places for LGBT people to visit after Norway are Portugal in second place and Belgium in third place.

They were the only three countries to receive an A-grade safety ranking.

“We’ve gathered data from a variety of trusted international sources to create an LGBT danger index that will help you find the worst (and safest) countries for LGBT travel,” said the study authors.

The UK came in fourth, with a safety ranking of B+, while the US ranked 24th, with a safety ranking of C+.