A hard Brexit has the potential to halve the growth of the Irish economy next year.
The Economic and Social Research Institute is warning that the UK’s withdrawal from the EU could have significant implications for the economy here in 2019.
It’s latest forecasts predict growth of 4 per cent next year, but a hard Brexit with no deal would result in growth of just 2.5%.
Research Professor with the ESRI, Kieran McQuinn, says there could be severe effects on the Irish economy, even in the short term:
"If you had a really hard Brexit, what they call a 'crash out' Brexit where there is no deal reached, then it is very difficult to anticipate what might happen.
"You could have a series of situations where European ports are closed to the UK or British planes can't access European aerospace.
"In kind of eventuality, it is almost impossible to predict what would happen - but the effect could be very severe indeed."