Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 56: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he has plans to make transition year available in all schools; when he expects all schools to operate a transition year programme; the reason his Department has no plans to extend the transition year programme to all schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7917/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Every year my Department invites all second level schools to participate in the Transition Year Programme. Circular 0064/2008 invited applications from schools for the 2008/2009 school year. Transition Year is optional for each school and a minority of schools do not offer Transition Year at all. In others it may be available as an optional programme for some pupils. Some schools, in deciding to offer the Programme, require all pupils to take the Programme in accordance with their curriculum provision across the school. This decision is made by the school authority.

Schools providing the programme for the first time are required to register with the full-time Second Level Support Service which provides inservice training, advisory services, and website resources to support the programme. Schools have flexibility to devise their own programme within the framework of the general guidelines published by my Department.