James Lawless

James Lawless (born 19 August 1976) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as a Minister of State since June 2024. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) 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.

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 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 was appointed Chair of the Committee on Justice in September 2020.

On 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 with responsibility for Postal Policy.