One of the Central Bank's top officials has told the Seanad Special Select Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union that a 'Hard Brexit' could cost Ireland up to 40,000 jobs.

Its chief economist Gabriel Fagan said "the number of people employed would be 40,000 fewer," a decade after the UK's exit if it leaves the EU without a trade agreement.

British PM Theresa May has repeatedly stated that she believes that "no deal is better than a bad deal" for the UK.

Leaving without a trade deal would automatically trigger World Trade Organisation tariffs on trade between Ireland and Britain. Mr Fagan told the committee that the Central Bank forecasts that this would reduce Ireland's GDP by 3% in the 10 years following its exit.

"A hard Brexit may also require sudden regulatory and financial adjustments, since UK financial firms would lose passporting rights associated with EU membership. This is likely to be accompanied by a period of heightened uncertainty in the financial services sector.

"The importance of a transitional period to mitigate potentially disruptive cliff effects in the workings of the financial system must be recognised," he added.

Relations between the UK and leading EU officials have deteriorated in recent days - Ms May accused Brussels of trying to interfere in the UK's General Election yesterday following a series of high-profile leaks.