James Lawless (born 19 August 1976) is an Irish

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

politician who has served as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science since January 2025. He served as a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

from 2024 to 2025. He has been a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for Kildare North since the 2016 general election.

Early life

Lawless is originally from Wexford. He earned a degree in mathematics from

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

in 2000. This was followed by a masters in high performance computing from, also from Trinity College Dublin. He worked as a systems analyst in his early career and subsequently qualified as a barrister at the Kings Inns.

Political career

He had contested the 2009 local elections unsuccessfully, but topped the poll in the 2014 local elections with 2,123 votes, becoming a member of

Kildare County Council Kildare County Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ...

from 2014 to 2016. While a member of Kildare County Council, he served as Mayor of

Naas Naas ( ; or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2022, it had a population of 26,180, making it the largest town in County Kildare (ahead of Newbridge, County Kildare, Newbridge) and the List of urban ar ...

. He was elected to the Dáil in the 2016 Irish general election for Kildare North. In May 2016, he was appointed by the party leader

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Min ...

as Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Science, Technology, Research and Development. He was a member of the Energy and Communications Oireachtas Committee, and in February 2017, he was elected as Vice-Chair of that Committee. In February 2018, he was appointed a member of the Business, Enterprise and Innovation Oireachtas committee. He proposed a bills to regulate online political advertising and the use of drones. He was re-elected to the Dáil in 2020 and was subsequently appointed Chair of the Committee on Justice in September 2020. In 27 June 2024, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Transport with responsibility for International and Road Transport and Logistics; and also as

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications The Minister of State at the Department of the Climate, Energy and the Environment is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the Mini ...

with responsibility for Postal Policy. Following the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

23 January 2025, Lawless was appointed as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

led by

Political views

Drug policy

In a 2025 interview, Lawless stated that he supports a health-led approach to drug policy, advocating for the decriminalisation of cannabis as a first step. He argues that

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

leads to uncertainty about drug potency and composition, making consumption more dangerous. He believes cannabis should be regulated like alcohol and tobacco, with clear labelling and potency warnings, and sees merit in the Portuguese model. While he acknowledges that full legalisation is likely in the future, he stresses the need for a coordinated European approach to avoid Ireland becoming a destination for drug tourism. On harder drugs, Lawless distinguishes between naturally occurring substances (such as

peyote The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to glisten". p. ...

and

psilocybin mushroom Psilocybin mushrooms, or psilocybin-containing mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms or as shrooms, are a type of hallucinogenic mushroom and a polyphyletic informal group of fungi that contain the prodrug psilocybin, which turns into t ...

s) which have historical cultural use, and synthetic drugs like

crystal meth Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational or performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity d ...

and ecstasy. He is open to discussing decriminalisation for the former but strongly opposes legalising synthetic drugs, viewing them as highly potent and toxic.

References

External links

*
James Lawless' page on the Fianna Fáil website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawless, James 1976 births Living people Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil Fianna Fáil TDs Members of Kildare County Council Ministers of State of the 33rd Dáil Fianna Fáil local councillors Members of the 34th Dáil Ministers for education of Ireland Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of King's Inns