The Government has announced €2 million in annual funding to help third level students in Northern Ireland access education opportunities abroad, lost due to Brexit.
Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said it would be an ongoing commitment.
During Brexit, civic leaders in Northern Ireland raised the loss of access for Northern Ireland students to the EU's Erasmus+ programme.
It funds study by students and staff in a higher education institution in another country.
In October 2020, the Government agreed to maintain access for Northern Ireland students to study in Europe, and today's announcement fulfils that promise.
Around 2,000 students from Northern Ireland are expected to avail of the opportunity in the coming year, a third from Queen's University with most of the rest from the University of Ulster.
"This is a permanent commitment and will be in place for as long as students in Northern Ireland wish to avail of this option or until an alternative mobility model emerges," Mr Harris said.
"It is a cost of around €2m a year based on the current numbers of students in Northern Ireland, accessing Erasmus.
"This is an investment in relationships between North and South. It is an investment in our island's next generation and I think it's a really practical sensible way of continuing to co-operate post-Brexit."
Officials will finalise details with Northern Ireland institutions in the coming weeks to ensure plans are in place for the new academic year in September.
The news has been welcomed by politicians in Northern Ireland.
The SDLP's Higher Education spokesperson Sinéad McLaughlin said it would have been "unthinkable" for students in Northern Ireland to have Erasmus access "robbed away from them".
"The Irish Government's decision to step up and provide this funding will open a wealth of opportunities for a new generation of young people across the North."
The news of erasmus funding follows confirmation that the Government will fund 200 nursing places for Republic of Ireland students on courses in Northern Ireland.
A further 50 places will be available in therapy disciplines in Ulster University, with 20 places in both occupational therapy and physiotherapy being made available along with 10 places in speech and language therapy.
