Bertie Ahern, the former Irish taoiseach, has warned Scots that voting for independence could saddle future generations with debt and claimed it is unlikely to happen for a generation.

Although Alex Salmond has cited Ireland as a model for a separate Scotland, Ahern said breaking away from the UK was “easier said than done”.

Ahern, who resigned as taoiseach last year, said there were many similarities between the countries and accepted that small countries had the potential to thrive in a global economy.

But he added: “I think that because the economic argument of these things is ultimately what even people who are passionate about independence [will think about], when they see the hard economic realities of it they may just say the cost of carrying that is just too much.

“I think that’s why the analysis of what is involved needs to be looked at. People would want to see that before they vote for it.

“With a step that big, my gut feeling would be that you would need to see the implications before you make the decision.”

Ahern said he believed Scotland was working well with a devolved government while remaining part of the UK.

“I have been with Alex Salmond around your parliament earlier this year and I do think that the whole effort that’s gone into building up Scotland is second to none,” he said.

“I think your close-knit community is a huge factor, your great history and culture — you can be very proud of what you’ve achieved.”

Ireland is one of the small countries on which the SNP has modelled its case for independence, praising its economy before it recently faltered and describing it as being in an “arc of prosperity” that Scotland should join.

After Ahern’s resignation last May, Salmond said the “accomplishments of the Irish Celtic tiger economy demonstrate the advantage of being a small, independent nation in Europe”.

Meanwhile, a leading economist has published a new study that suggests Scotland would thrive if it was financially independent of London. Ronald MacDonald, a professor of economics at Glasgow University, said the union with England had hindered Scotland’s economic performance.

MacDonald has been a consultant to a number of central banks, financial institutions and the International Monetary Fund.

He was previously asked by Wendy Alexander, the former Labour leader, to deliver on more powers for the Scottish parliament.

Times Recommends

• Foxy Knoxy snared by her lust and her lies
• Britain is the land of the shrinking family
• Zac Goldsmith: Not such a green god