Ms Aoife Carragher:

We did single it out and for the purpose that is exactly what the Cathaoirleach pointed out. From the complaints we got, it seems all schools are just acting completely independently. There is no clear guidance about policies or transparency about decision-making. It is completely ad hoc and school dependent, which is completely unacceptable because transition year is such an important year for many students. Research shows that children who go through transition year do better in the leaving certificate and are more likely to go on to third level. We are really worried about it.

The cost shocked us. We had not realised there was such disparity in how much individual schools charge students to get into transition year, to enable them to go on a holiday abroad or to take part in all the different wonderful experiences. We gathered our case studies, therefore, given we were concerned there were some financial barriers and soft discrimination. It was so unclear that we wrote to the Department of Education and said it needed to develop a rights-based framework setting out to every school that whatever policy it devises must comply with the very basics of procedural fairness, transparency and appeals, because some children are just told there are only, say, 60 places, that interviews were done and there was a lottery, and then they do not get in. This is a really serious year that children are missing out on.

I could go on about this at length. We feel very passionate about it because we think it is hidden. It is not being talked about in public, but it is a very significant issue for children and there should be fairness in accessing transition year.