Hard Brexit May Cost Ireland 85,000 Jobs, Government Warns

(Bloomberg) -- Ireland's economic growth rate may be flat next year if the U.K. crashes out of the European Union without a deal, the government warned.

The economy will expand between zero and 1% in a hard Brexit scenario, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe told reporters in Dublin on Tuesday. That compares with 3.3% growth in an orderly exit.

``Our priority will be how to protect our country, '' Donohoe said. ``We are at a fork in the road.''

Ireland is considered the European economy most vulnerable to Brexit, with about 15 percent of exports going to the U.K. Donohoe said a no-deal would cost Ireland as many as 85,000 jobs, with 55,000 vulnerable the first two years of a no-deal scenario, and said the government could run a deficit to help counter the impact of a no-deal Brexit.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dara Doyle in Dublin at ddoyle1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net

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