The 33 vocational education committees (VECs) are to be given responsibility for the student maintenance-grant scheme, Minister for Education Mary Hanafin announced yesterday.
Under the plan, the VECs are to be given sole responsibility for the administration of student maintenance grants to 57,000 students - with effect from the 2007/2008 academic year.
Until now, responsibility for grant payments was shared by VECs and local authorities.
Ms Hanafin said: "The changes are part of overall plans to introduce service improvements in the administration of the student grant schemes. These will include guaranteed time-frames for the earlier payment of grants, an independent appeals procedure and more efficient arrangements for handling applications and making payments."
Giving sole responsibility for administering the grants to the VECs will, she said, reduce confusion caused by a variety of agencies being involved, depending on the county.
The Government spends €228 million a year on student maintenance grants.
The Minister said the grants were a major factor in "encouraging the record levels of participation that we now enjoy in higher education and in achieving the major growth that has been seen in the representation of students from lower socio-economic groups".
It is intended that all new applications for grants for the 2007/08 academic year will be handled by the VECs. Plans are also in place to introduce new legislation to unify the various grant schemes and place them on a statutory footing.
The Irish Vocational Education Association has welcomed the move. Michael Moriarty, its general secretary, said it was "fully committed to meeting the challenges of managing and administering the proposed new single unified grants scheme".