Tens of thousands of students who were at college or university during the period when there were no student grants are to be given up to €2,136 in additional compensation, the education ministry said on Friday.

Some 760,000 students who started a degree between 2015 and 2023 had to borrow the full amount of the cost of studying, unless they came from very low-income households.

The students – known as the “hard luck generation” could borrow from the state at a low rate of interest and had run up an average debt of around €25,000 by the time they graduated.

Prior to the abolition of grants, students who lived away from home were given €260 a month towards their upkeep and college fees. The rest they could borrow, and on average they left university or college with some €15,000 in debts.

The new compensation will be paid at the rate of €44.50 a month for up to four years and automatically offset against their student debts. The students were previously given €3,700 in compensation.

The new package, which will be paid out in 2027, is the “definitive, final round”, education minister Rianne Letschert said.

Student grants were brought back from the 2023/24 academic year. The basic student grant this academic year is €130 for a student living at home and €324 for a student living away. An additional grant of €491 depends on parental incomes, and students can borrow up to €532 a month.