Timeline from June 2008 to present day. And how we got here.

CMpunked

Taken off the RTE website:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/1207/live_budget_updates.html

1020 The Press Association has a timeline charting how Ireland went from boom to bust:
June 24, 2008: The ESRI sounds alarm bells with stark warnings of the first recession in Ireland since 1983 and a return to high unemployment.

September 30: A €440 billion bank deposit guarantee is unveiled to quell rumours on the streets and airwaves of a so-called 'run on the banks'.

October 14: In Budget 2009, brought forward two months, the Government introduces a 1% income levy for all workers and scraps free healthcare for the over-70s. The health cut was later overturned after pressure from angry pensioners.

January 15, 2009: Anglo-Irish Bank is nationalised amid scandals over lending and fears over a failing loan book.

February 11: A €7 billion bank recapitalisation programme is announced, with the Government taking preference shares in Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland.

February 24: The Government vows to bring to justice those who risked the country's economic security after the fraud squad raided the headquarters of Anglo.

March 3: Taoiseach Brian Cowen announces a supplementary Budget to raise more revenue and cut spending.

April 7: The Government unveils an emergency Budget, doubling income and health levies and announcing the National Asset Management Agency (Nama).

December 9: Finance Minister Brian Lenihan unveils €4 billion in cuts and tax hikes in Budget 2010, with the minister claiming the economy had turned a corner.

January 29, 2010: Ireland's Central Bank predicts the country's economy will turn the corner by the summer.

June 9: A damning report by Central Bank Governor Professor Patrick Honohan and experts Klaus Regling and Max Watson states the banking meltdown was a result of 'home-made' decisions rather than the global economic crisis.

September 20: Prof Honohan warns that more than the expected €3 billion of cuts maybe needed in the Budget.

November 4: The Government reveals it will impose a €6 billion cost-cutting Budget for 2011 - twice the initial estimate.

November 12: Mr Cowen denies Ireland has approached Europe for emergency funds amid reports of behind-the-scenes talks.

November 14: Two senior Cabinet ministers dismiss suggestions of a bail-out, with one branding them fiction.

November 18: Prof Honohan says he expects the country to get a loan worth tens of billions through an International Monetary Fund-European Union rescue deal.

November 21: The Government confirms it will seek an IMF/EU bail-out.

November 22: The Greens, junior partner in the coalition, call for a General Election. The Taoiseach says he will dissolve the Dáil after laws are passed to enact Budget 2011.

November 24: A four-year €15 billion plan to restore the crippled finances is unveiled.

November 28: The Government announces an €85 billion IMF/EU bailout.

Talisman

The time line should start in 2004/5 - that's when exports declined sharply, the economy became uncompetitive and the government decided to push the property bubble into overdrive to cover the deficit.