James Lawless

A productive second day at the @fiannafail Ard Fheis with a workshop on ‘Work in the age of AI’ alongside my colleagues @votenaoise , @niamhsmythtd , and @malcolmbyrne 🤖

This weekend marks the Fianna Fail Ard Fheis, celebrating 100 years of our party. I was honoured, as Honorary National Secretary, to welcome our Taoiseach and Uachtarán of @fiannafail , @michealmartintd , to the stage tonight #AF84 #100bliain

A great day in Clane meeting with local groups, community leaders, educators and entrepreneurs making a real difference in the area. This morning I had the pleasure of meeting the members of Clane Men’s Shed and discussing local issues and community priorities. They are doing fantastic work supporting people locally and creating a strong sense of community spirit. Next up was a visit to the Clane Project Centre at the Thompson Enterprise Centre where I met with Ted Murray, Marie Sheehy and PJ Kirby. The Centre is doing crucial work providing incubation units for start-ups and SMEs, helping entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and create local employment opportunities. We also visited The Old Garden in Clane, a fantastic community initiative bringing people together to grow food, share knowledge and promote sustainability. Great progress is already underway with allotments, community vegetable gardens, orchards, food forests and even chickens and ducks creating a vibrant local space for all ages. The day continued with a very enjoyable visit to Scoil Bhríde in Clane where I met Principal Eimear Hennessy, her staff and members of the student council. It was great to hear directly from the students and discuss issues affecting the school community. To top it all off, the school choir performed two fantastic songs fresh from their recent choir competition win success.

An engaging and wide-ranging discussion at the May 2026 Cork Chamber Business Breakfast with Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science @jameslawlesstd . Talent and skills development, alongside research and innovation capacity, is a critical strand of Ireland's economic competitiveness. Cork already punches well above its weight with world-class further and higher education facilities, as well as cutting edge research capabilities. Ongoing investment will ensure the sector continues to thrive, sustaining talent attraction and development. Minister Lawless outlined a number of welcome plans and investments to support the sector's continued development, harness the potential of AI and digitalisation, and capitalise on Ireland's upcoming EU Presidency to drive collaboration and innovation. #CCBreakfast is sponsored by @rdj_llp , media partner @irish_examiner

A fantastic day in Cork connecting with education, enterprise and research across the region. 📍 Clayton Hotel, Cork City - kicked off the morning speaking at a sold-out @corkchamber Business Breakfast, sharing how we’re strengthening skills, education and research to build a future-ready workforce. 📍 @universitycollegecork - dropped by UCC to say hello the President John O’Halloran. Thanks for the tie John! 📍Tusla Child & Family Agency, Southwest Regional Offices, Glanmire - proud to announce Ireland’s first-ever Social Care Apprenticeship alongside Minister @normafoleytd , a major step forward in supporting  vital frontline professions. 📍 Coláiste an Phiarsaigh, Glanmire - great to meet students and teachers, discuss the work of my Department and mark Europe Day with a special EU flag presentation. 📍 @corketb Tramore Road Campus - witnessed the incredible work of Cork ETB, from performing arts to engineering, and exciting new pathways to degree-level study in partnership with UCC. 📍 @teagasc Food Research Centre, Fermoy - wrapped up the visit exploring Teagasc’s world-class research facilities and speaking at the IKTA Annual Conference on innovation and knowledge transfer Cork continues to lead the way in collaboration, innovation and skills development, shaping a stronger future for communities and industry alike 👏

I’m really delighted to see progress being made towards a public swimming pool for North Kildare, with Kildare County Council now moving ahead with a feasibility study for a proposed site at Leixlip Demesne, between Leixlip and Celbridge. This is something so many local families, schools, clubs and community groups have spoken to me about over the years. The proposed location has the potential to serve communities across Leixlip, Celbridge, Maynooth and the wider North Kildare area, making access far easier for thousands of people. As our population continues to grow, we need community and recreational facilities that grow with it. Swimming is such an important life skill and a facility like this would make a real difference for children learning to swim, local sports clubs, older people, and families across the area. I also very much welcome the €1 million commitment from Intel towards the project, alongside the continued support from Swim Ireland. It’s a strong vote of confidence in the importance of delivering this facility for the community. There’s still work ahead, but today’s announcement is a very significant and positive step forward for North Kildare.

I was delighted to be in Cork today with my colleague Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, @normafoleytd to launch a new and exciting Social Care apprenticeship, which will provide 55 additional training places for social care workers from September 2026. The Social Care apprenticeship, which follows an earn while you learn model, was developed in response to the growing and critical demand for qualified social care professionals. It combines paid work-integrated learning with off-the-job education jointly delivered by @universitycollegecork and @mtu_ie . The three-year programme leads to a Level 8 degree qualification. The new Social Care apprenticeship model provides a sustainable pathway to expand the national workforce, by combining structured academic learning with supervised on-the-job experience, It has been approved by CORU, Ireland’s multi-profession health. and social care regulator and is overseen by a consortium led by the Social Care All-Employer Forum. The apprenticeship is now open for recruitment with positions advertised in Oberstown Children Detention Campus, and Tusla Child and Family Agency, Oberstown Children Detention Campus and the Health Service Executive.

A positive visit to St Patrick’s National School in Celbridge to meet with the Chair of the Board of Management Breda Homes and School Principal Jennifer Quigley. The visit provided an opportunity to examine the important works currently being undertaken at the school and to discuss how we can assist in progressing these works to a successful conclusion for the benefit of the entire school community. We also discussed the proposed new school build project for St Patrick’s. I will be making further representations to the Minister for Education to help move this project forward and ensure the school receives the support and investment it deserves.

Great to be out knocking on doors with @johnstephensff ahead of the Dublin Central bye-election on Friday, 22 May. Make sure to get out and vote John Stephens #1 🗳️

Great to be in Brussels for yesterday’s EYCS Council, where Member States reached an important milestone on the next Erasmus+ Programme (2028–2034). Positive momentum on a programme that continues to create life‑changing opportunities for learners, educators and institutions across Ireland and Europe - and timely as Ireland prepares to assume the EU Council Presidency.

In a feature interview with the @businessposthq this week, I set out why my Ministry is an economic one, part of the Enterprise focus of Government to provide future skills needs and develop intellectual property & ideas for future growth. We touched on many other areas including my belief in the need to explore nuclear power as a clean, sustainable part of our energy mix and the impact of AI technologies on white collar jobs at present.

A meaningful visit to the Irish College in Rome, beginning with a warm welcome at St. Isidore’s Irish Franciscan College before continuing on to the Pontificio Collegio Irlandese. For centuries, the Irish College served as an outpost for Irish people in Rome, part of a wider Irish connection with Italy stretching from St Columbanus, who brought the tradition of monastic scholarship to Europe in the 6th century, through the Flight of the Earls and on to Daniel O’Connell. Today, that legacy continues through education and research. We heard insightful presentations from students involved in the Lay Formation Project, had engaging discussions with Fr. Paul Finnerty, and explored a college that remains home to some of the oldest archive material relating to the early Irish State and preceding periods - a remarkable resource for researchers and historians. A memorable afternoon celebrating education, connection, history and shared European values. Grateful for the opportunity to witness such strong Irish-European ties on Europe Day. 🇮🇪🇪🇺 #EuropeDay #Rome #Education #IrelandInEurope #IrishCollegeRome EuropeanValues