Some 12,000 disadvantaged third-level students are to receive a 22 per cent increase in the "top-up" grant they receive from the State, Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said yesterday.
Eligible students will now receive a maximum grant of €5,355 a year.
Income thresholds for ordinary maintenance grants will also be increased by almost 5 per cent, bringing them into line with average wage increases.
Students will now get a full ordinary maintenance grant if the family income does not exceed €35,485.
However, the amount received by these students will be increased by just 2.6 per cent. As a result, the maximum ordinary grant which a student whose home is more than 15 miles from their college will be €3,020.
To get a 75 per cent maintenance grant, family income must not exceed €37,695. All increases are effective from the start of the 2005/2006 academic year.
Students who get grants do not have to pay the €750 student service charge.
A total of 56,000 further and higher education students receive some form of maintenance grant.
Disadvantaged students must meet a number of conditions to qualify for "top-up" grants.
If they are living with parents or guardians, for example, the household income must not exceed €15,626.
Ben Archibald, president of the Union of Students of Ireland (USI), said there was "very little to write home about" in the latest announcement.
While he welcomed the significant increase in the top-up grant for the poorest students, the other announcements were "simply tracking inflation".
USI surveys had shown the average annual cost of student rent to be €4,200. This left even those who received the full top-up grant with "just €1,100 to live on".
It was also unclear whether increases in the income threshold for the "top-up" grant were simply tracking increases in social security payments.