Local authorities may lose control of the higher education grant scheme under proposals now being examined by the Department of Education.
Officials are examining proposals to transfer responsibility to the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs - in a move designed to prevent any abuse by wealthy business people and farmers.
The move is being made as it became clear that any decision on the possible return of third-level fees is likely to be delayed for several more months.
The current review into third-level funding is expected to present a series of policy options - rather than any definitive proposals - to the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey.
Meanwhile, publication of this report, due next month, is likely to be followed by a period of consultation before Mr Dempsey brings a recommendation to Cabinet.
Responsibility for the grant system may change because officials believe the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs - with its experience of the social welfare system - is better placed to assess actual income. The Department is working with both the ESRI and the Paris-based OECD on the report.
The ESRI is examining the social background of students while the OECD is compiling a report on how higher education is financed in 12 member-states.
The Department of Education report will run to several sections including:
An examination of the social profile of the existing student population;
An assessment of how the abolition of third-level fees changed the student population;
A review of the various methods used by other OECD states to fund third-level and widen access;
An examination of how the €220 million spent annually on student supports could be used to widen access.
A transfer of responsibility for higher education grants from local authorities to the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs was one of the key proposals made by the landmark 1993 deBuitléir Report on third-level student support. In making the case for change it said: "Some people with clearly expensive lifestyles obtain grants, while others who are very hard-pressed, lose out."
Figures published in The Irish Times today show that farmers received more higher education grants than any other working group. Homes headed by farmers account for over 1,000 of the 6,000-plus grants awarded by 26 local authorities surveyed last year. Under the current grants system, farmers and the self-employed can reduce their reckon- able income by purchasing assets for the years when their children are in college.