A timeline of some the major events in the life of the Fianna Fáil-Green coalition:
May 2007: Bertie Ahern wins a third successive term as taoiseach as Fianna Fáil remain the largest party.
June 2007: The Greens enter Government for the first time as a junior coalition partner, with the support of the Progressive Democrats and a number of Independent TDs.
May 2008: Mr Ahern resigns after 11 years as taoiseach following controversy over his financial affairs. He had been the country's second longest serving premier after Eamon De Valera. Former minister for Finance Brian Cowen takes his place.
June 2008: Experts at the influential Economic and Social Research Institute warn Ireland is heading for its first recession since the dark days of high unemployment and emigration in the early 1980s.
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan tells a construction industry conference he has the misfortune of taking control of State coffers as the building boom was coming to a “shuddering end”.
September 2008: An official economic report states Ireland is officially in recession.
The Government announces a €400 billion State guarantee of all deposits in Irish financial institutions.
January 2009: Disgraced lender Anglo Irish Bank is nationalised after a share price collapse, massive losses, a scandal over loans to directors and a multibillion deposit loan from a rival lender.
April 2009: An emergency Budget sets out savings of €3.25 billion in tax rises and spending cuts as part of a six-point economic rescue package.
June 2009: Support for both Fianna Fáil and the Green Party plummet in the local and European elections.
September 2009: The Green Party threatens to pull out of the coalition over the setting up of the State's bad-bank, the National Assets Management Agency (Nama).
December 2009: The Government holds its third budget in 12 months with a €4 billion cost-cutting package.
February 2010: Veteran Fianna Fail TD Willie O'Dea resigns as minister for defence amid controversy relating to a libel case. A week later there is a third government resignation in a fortnight when Green junior minister Trevor Sargent quits after interfering in a criminal prosecution.
September 2010: Mr Cowen hits international headlines after being forced to dismiss claims he sounded drunk or hungover in a live morning radio interview. He branded it a pathetic stunt by opponents.
October 2010: The Government, with a razor-thin majority of two, is ordered by the High Court to end an 18 month wait for a by-election in Donegal South West - two other cases are pending.
November 2010: Taoiseach Brian Cowen flatly denied Ireland has approached Europe for emergency funds.
Within a week the Republic is forced into an international bailout for its embattled economy and the Government thrown into crisis after the Greens call for a general election.
PA