Thousands of third-level students have still not received their maintenance grants three months after the start of the college term.
Because of bureaucratic problems between the Department of Education and various local authorities and VECs, a significant number of students are still waiting for their funds.
Local authorities and VECs say that during the summer they did not receive paperwork from the Department of Education on time. Hence the payment of grants was delayed.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) said it had been contacted by many students distressed about not receiving their money. USI president Mr Colm Jordan said the administration of the grant system should be passed to the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs as soon as possible.
Mr Jordan said some local authorities and VECs contacted by USI were not planning to make payments until February. Grants have been late traditionally in many parts of the country, but this year the situation has been described as particularly bad by USI and other student groups.
The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, is reviewing the grants system and widespread changes are expected.
"As we enter 2003, the poorest students are still paying the cost. For example, students from Kilkenny will have to wait until February to receive the first instalment of their VEC grant because paperwork was not processed by the end of October. This is just one of many cases affecting students from all over the country. It is ridiculous that the grants system has not been streamlined and centralised by now," said Mr Jordan.
"The week before Christmas we took a call from a distraught student who was unable to finish her course because her grant payment was late and she was already too much in debt to continue her studies. She has been forced to defer college for a year to earn enough money for her so-called free education. She is not even sure if she can afford to return next year. This is just one of several cases that we are aware of," he said.
Many students also have not been refunded the €670 student registration fee. This fee is not charged to grant holders, but because of the delay in processing grants, thousands of students were forced to pay it.
"Last summer, Minister Dempsey vowed that students eligible for means-tested student supports would have the €670 registration fee paid on their behalf by local authorities and VECs. If students did not have proof that they were receiving a grant, they would have to pay the €670 charge. Thousands of students still had to pay the fee because the Department failed to send VECs this year's application forms in time, so students were not registered as receiving a grant," Mr Jordan said.