New initiative to boost higher education opportunities for people with criminal convictions 

The Unlocking Potential project is building on a previous partnership between Maynooth University and Mountjoy Prison.

A new initiative could see people with criminal convictions only having to reveal them when applying to enter higher education if there are restrictions or conditions attached to the conviction, with Minister Simon Harris saying efforts to open up the sector to ex-offenders could be "transformational".

The minister for higher and further education, research, innovation and science launched the Unlocking Potential project at Maynooth University, which is now also reviewing its own admissions policy with regard to making it easier for people with convictions to enter higher education.