No deal Brexit hit to Ireland would be severe, immediate: central bank

DUBLIN (Reuters) - A sudden, no-deal Brexit next month would have a very severe and immediately disruptive effects on almost all areas of Ireland's economy, the head of the country's central bank said on Wednesday. The central bank forecast last month that if Britain left the European Union without a deal, it could knock as much as 4 percentage points off the economy's growth rate in its first full year and up to 6 percentage points over a decade. "A sudden, no-deal scenario would have immediate disruptive effects that would permeate almost all areas of economic activity. The agri-food sector would be disproportionately affected, with a corresponding outsized impact on rural regions, especially near the border," Philip Lane said in a speech. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Alison Williams)