Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills in relation to schools where not every child who wants to, can do transition year, his views on whether there should be a fair and transparent system for selecting children, that is, a lottery, rather than having teachers decide who is left out as this can lead to abuse, favouritism, discrimination and prejudice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11519/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The management authority of each school carries responsibility for making decisions regarding the Transition Year Programme in that school. In some schools, the programme is compulsory for all students. In those that offer it as an option, circumstances may arise where it is necessary to limit the number of students who can avail of it. It is the board of management of each individual school that decides the number of places available to students on programmes such as Transition Year. In cases where restrictions apply, schools should have clear procedures regarding how places are allocated to students.