The time is right to return to normal banking, says Finance Minister Michael Noonan as he announced an end to the bank guarantee this evening.
It was agreed between then-Taoiseach Brian Cowen and then-Finance Minister Brian Lenihan in the early hours of September 29th 2008.
It covered all the deposits, funds and bonds of the banks involved - but also covered their losses.
The scheme was controversially made 4.5 years ago and will come to an end on March 28th when no new liabilities will be covered by the taxpayer.
It will have no impact on people's deposits up to €100,000 which are covered by a separate scheme.
Fianna Fail welcomes move
The announcement has been welcomed by Fianna Fáil Finance Spokesperson Michael McGrath.
"The ending of the ELG scheme is a necessary step towards normalising the banking system" he said.
"In recent months, the Irish banks have managed to successfully raise funds outside of the guarantee scheme and deposit levels have stabilised. Since its introduction, the ELG scheme has played an important role in ensuring affordable access to funding for the banks and has yielded around €1 billion a year for the exchequer by way of fees from the participating banks" he added.
The Department of Finance has recommended that people contact their bank branch in the first instance for queries on the closure of the Scheme.
But if you require further clarification, you can contact the Department of Finance Query-line on 1800-30-36-48.
The Finance Minister says the guarantee was controversial but now it is over.
