A leading economist has urged the Irish government to withdraw from the Eurozone in the wake of the downgrading of U.S. debt.

Ray Kinsella, a professor at the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, has declared that the Eurozone policies "simply aren’t working."

As economies across the world nervously await the opening of markets on Monday, Kinsella has joined the chorus of experts predicting that the Euro is now at "serious risk" of collapse.

These experts blame a lack of real leadership across European governments as the root cause of the potential collapse of the Eurozone.

Even former Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi has said: “We don’t know who is in charge.”

Now Professor Kinsella has added to the calls on Ireland to withdraw from the Euro.

He said: “The economic forecasts on which Ireland’s budgetary policies - and the bailout - have been constructed have now been shown to be wholly wrong.

“So, too, have the policies. They simply aren’t working. All there is to show for the sacrifices are a sovereign debt rating of junk status, a shrinkage of employment of 15 percent and ‘closed’ and ‘for sale’ notices across the country.

“This is not leadership. It borders on the wilful to adhere to policies that are demonstrably not working and that have mired the Eurozone in a crisis from which it is seemingly incapable of escaping. Ireland needs to leave.”