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
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
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 ...
.
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