Former Labour Party Chairman Colm Keaveney said the Education Minister must ensure that no students are left waiting for their grants after the online application system crashed last night.
The website for SUSI - where students apply for their college maintenance grants - crashed for around two hours last night - just hours before the deadline.
The deadline has been extended until Monday, but the crash caused worry to thousands of applicants.
Deputy Keaveney - who is a former President of the Union of Students in Ireland - said students must not be left behind.
"It is important that no student is discommoded with respect to the application process and any delay as a consequence of the failure of the IT system in SUSI," he said.