James Lawless (politician)


James Lawless is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála for the Kildare North constituency since the 2016 general election.
He was a member of Kildare County Council from 2014 to 2016. He topped the poll in the 2014 local elections with 2,123 votes. While a member of Kildare County Council, he served as Mayor of Naas prior to his election to Dáil Éireann.
He is a qualified barrister and also has degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin. He worked as a systems analyst in his early career.
In May 2016, he was appointed by the party leader Micheál Martin as Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Science, Technology, Research and Development. He is a member of the Energy & Communications Oireachtas Committee, and in February 2017 was elected as Vice-Chair of that Committee. In February 2018, he was appointed a member of the Business, Enterprise and Innovation Oireachtas committee.