Mr. Niall Walsh:

Very much so. In the Pathways Centre, we try to help them to be a bit strategic about the courses they pick should they want to do a law degree. The realities or practicalities of doing the FE 1 exams are that those doors may be closed to them. As such, people need to be strategic in the courses they pick if they want to do social care work with young people. Depending on the nature of the conviction, people need to be careful or they may get on a course and spend a great deal of time and effort gaining a qualification with the support of their families, the Pathways Centre and other organisations but never be able to work in the area in which they are qualified. They might be more than capable and have all this life experience to use, but something that happened 20 years ago may prevent them. It can be soul-destroying and disheartening. When one sees people coming out of prison with a law degree, that is great, but they cannot work as solicitors. It very much limits what courses they pick and it is very disheartening for them.