Ireland's prime minister Micheal Martin on Thursday called on Britain to "knuckle down" in Brexit trade talks with the European Union, warning that failure would hit its economy. "The British government... should knuckle down and get a deal with the European Union," Martin told BBC radio in an interview. Ireland and the UK will be the hardest hit nations if no trade accord is reached before the end of this year, he told the British state broadcaster. He said if Britain did not secure access to the EU bloc's single market it would prove "ruinous for the United Kingdom economy and trade". "Likewise Ireland would do significantly worse in the event of a no-deal," he added. The UK left the EU in January following a seismic 2016 referendum, but a transition period froze relations in the status quo until 2021. If no deal on trading arrangements is reached by then Britain faces operating on World Trade Organization (WTO) terms with the bloc. Talks between London and Brussels continue in the British capital this week, snagged on the issue of fisheries and the "level playing field" needed to ensure fair competition between UK and EU firms. Last month British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said negotiations would be "effectively ended" unless the EU "fundamentally shifts its position". But Martin said: "I actually believe that Boris Johnson wants a deal -- I think his gut instinct would favour a deal." Yesterday Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney predicted that the trade talks will spill over into next week. Whilst an agreement is likely, he said "it is quite possible that this could fall apart and we don't get a deal. "If we don't have a deal at some point next week I think we have real problems," he added. jts/phz/bmm