Students are usually very good at managing their finances and surviving on a very small budget, according Ms Dervla O'Mahony, student financial adviser at the Montrose branch of the Bank of Ireland, opposite UCD.

"I have the utmost respect for what some of them manage to live on per week. With most of them paying rent of around £60 per week, they have just £30£40 for food and other expenses," she says.

Internet and freephone banking services are increasingly accessible to students, but Ms O'Mahony clearly likes students to come into the branch now and again, if only to confirm that she's human.

"Students can be intimidated coming into a bank. They often would not come in because they are afraid of rejection when asking for a loan." She believes that the percentage out of the total population of students who borrow is very small, about 5 per cent.

At the same time, she confirms that there is a high degree of student financial dependence on parents, that parents are much more organised today about helping to fund their children's education and that most students have a part-time job.

A lot of her loan requests are for money to travel to the US for summer work.

"Parents are actually encouraging their children to borrow for the J1 Visa package because they want them to get a track record in borrowing and also believe it will create a sense of responsibility on their children to work to pay it back."

She clearly finds her job rewarding, particularly in dealing with the students who come into the branch to talk to her: "It's a teaching thing, helping them to develop a relationship with the bank. If they get the opportunity to have interaction with the bank, then it's much more satisfying from my point of view."

Her branch's interaction with students is not confined to issues of cashing grant cheques, student loans or lodging part-job earnings. "I have a couple of entrepreneurs on my books at the moment," she laughs.