The Minister for Finance has said a revised version of the banking guarantee may have to be introduced when the current one expires in September 2010.
Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the measure that guaranteed all the debts and deposits of Irish banks and building societies.
It was on the night of 29 September last year that Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan decided to underwrite the Irish banking system which, at the time, was estimated to have deposits and bonds worth €440bn.
Following the collapse of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers, Irish institutions were frozen-out of the inter-bank lending market that they had come to rely on.
At the same time, large depositors had begun withdrawing their money.
Speaking to RTÉ News, Mr Lenihan said that throughout the month the Irish authorities had been urged by European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet to take steps to prevent the collapse of an Irish bank.
He said the Government had also considered nationalising a number of institutions along with a blanket-guarantee, but that this was ruled out during a night of emergency meetings in Government Buildings.
Mr Lenihan said it was important that the Government began to work on exiting from the guarantee but that this depended on market conditions.
He said it may have to keep the guarantee alive for medium-term bonds issued by the Irish banks.
Tonight, Mr Lenihan said that this year had been difficult and momentous for the Irish financial system and that he was aware of how much anger there is about what had happened to the banks and the country.
Speaking at a book launch in Dublin tonight, he said citizens must and should have their say, but he said 'we must get over our anger and clean up the banks and restore the problems in the wider economy'.
