Centralised grant system could stretch resources

For some time, student representatives have been pressing for a central grants authority which would process all grant applications in lieu of the local authorities. This now appears to have been accepted in principle by the Department of Education. In future, applications may be processed by a central authority based around the facilities offered by the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social Welfare.

This is generally regarded as A Good Thing, harbinger of a more efficient, punctual payment system than what currently operates. Yet two notes of caution has been raised in the last week, one from Britain and the other at home.

In Britain, the decision to levy fees on students from 1998 is likely to place a huge burden on the authorities that currently deal only with student loans. Unless there is a significant increase in staff and resources, the British system is unlikely to be able to deal with the extra work involved. If institutions like the Department of Social Welfare, already not short of work to do, are to be required to take on the additional burden of student grants in this State, then is the Government going to provide the additional resources, to cope with grant applications? If the example of the local authorities - which were forced to deal with rising student numbers at a time when publicservice recruitment was effectively frozen - is anything to go by, then the result could be simply to transfer the problem from over 30 local authorities to one central authority.

Second, as a representative of one local authority pointed out last week, there is a question of quality of service. As the situation stands, students with queries or difficulties can approach their local authorities in person and be reasonably confident of a sympathetic hearing. Under a centralised system, this personal aspect is likely to fall by the wayside in favour of a more anonymous, CAO-type system. Of course, the system as it stands is far from ideal and drastically in need of an overhaul - but a centralised system, if not properly constructed, could cause as many problems as it solves.

Philosophising over (I do so love our little chats), we return to the more urgent business of money and the lack thereof. Most local authorities have made at least one set of initial payments by now. Limerick Corporation has processed those applications which have been confirmed by college registration details and the first batch of cheques reached colleges last week. A second set of payments from Limerick should have reached colleges by yesterday.

There's no way to sugar the pill for applicants to Waterford County Council. Waterford will not be making initial payments until mid-tolate November, so students should try to budget accordingly.