The Irish government has enacted a revision of its bank guarantee scheme (the “Original Guarantee Scheme”) which was put in place in October 2008. The Original Guarantee Scheme provided a State guarantee for deposits and a broad range of debt securities to 29 September 2010. The Amended Guarantee Scheme has been approved by the European Commission. Financial institutions have sixty days from 9 December 2009 to apply to join the Amended Guarantee Scheme.