The CAO is asking students to bear the cost of its website difficulties in advance of today's application deadline.
Thousands of students faced difficulty accessing the CAO website on Tuesday and yesterday. Last night, in an e-mail to school guidance counsellors, the CAO said it would accept postal applications date stamped to meet today's deadline.
However, in a move which has caused dismay among teachers, these postal applications must be accompanied by an extra €10 fee. This is designed to cover the difference between online and paper applications. Students who fail to pay this differential will, the CAO said, be fined an additional €10.
Last night, the CAO operations manager, Joseph O'Grady, denied that a penalty was being imposed on students. While students were experiencing some difficulties online, they were getting through, he said. However, parents and students who contacted The Irish Timesyesterday said they were still experiencing difficulty as the system was "timing out" after they failed to access the CAO website.
Last night, The Irish Timescareer expert Brian Mooney said the latest CAO move was "nothing less than a public relations disaster for the third-level institutions on whose behalf the CAO operates".
The CAO charges students €35 for online applications and €45 for paper applications.
In his e-mail Mr O'Grady writes: "If any applicant is particularly distressed about the approaching closing date they should submit a paper application. Paper applications posted and clearly date stamped on February 1st will be accepted as having arrived on time. If an applicant has paid €35 using a fee payment form she/he should include a postal order, draft or another fee payment form for the €10 balance.
"If an application arrives on time but the fee is not present or insufficient the application will be processed but the remainder of the fee and a penalty will be sought. Applicants posting an application should obtain a certificate of posting."
Based in Galway, the CAO is a limited company controlled by the third-level colleges; its sole purpose is to process first-year admissions to the colleges.
Last year there was controversy when the CAO computer system malfunctioned as students prepared their change-of-mind options in June. Details of the breakdown were not released to the public.
In a letter to guidance counsellors yesterday, Mr O'Grady says "applicants should be patient and persist with completing their applications on time".