Online student grant system opens 7 years late

An online grant application system aimed at ending delays for thousands of college students has opened seven years after first being announced.

Plans for the handling of grant applications by a single awarding body were first revealed by then education minister Mary Hanafin in 2005.

More than 40% of undergraduates receive some level of State support and almost 72,500 benefited last year but late payments have dogged the system for many years.