It was emergency legislation passed by the Irish Government on Tuesday, 30 September 2008 and enacted on Thursday, 2 October to provide a €440 billion guarantee to six Irish banks to prevent possible collapse as a result of the Financial crisis of 2007–2008 It was the first time since its foundation that the Seanad began debate on legislation after midnight, passing the bill at 8 a.m. on Thursday 2 October.
[citation needed] The decision to introduce the bill was made following Monday 29 September 2008, when the ISEQ fell a record 13%, when a number of banks in Europe were collapsing and the United States congress initially rejected their Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and a subsequent record points-value fall in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
There was a direct positive response on the liquidity markets on the day the bill was announced.
[citation needed] In Collins v Minister for Finance, the Supreme Court found that the Act was constitutional.
[1][2] The Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Scheme 2008 was made under powers conferred by section 6(4) of this Act.