James Lawless T.D. at a recent event in Intel, Leixlip. Pictured with Cllr. Paul Ward.
I am delighted to have been appointed Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Science and Technology, Research and Development by party leader Michael Martin T.D. this week. This is an area which has been neglected by the current Government with no Minister or Minister of State responsible for such a Department.
It is vitally important we continue to grow the sector nationally and in Kildare North. I look forward to working with many of our multinational companies in the State and encouraging others to invest in Ireland.
In my own constituency of Kildare North we have Intel and Kerry Group amongst others providing over 5000 jobs in the county. We need to manage our relations with these organisations while also encouraging others to create inward direct investment in the county and State.
It is disappointing the Government did not dedicate any Ministry to a role such as this. Our relationship with the likes of Google, Amazon, Intel, Pfizer etc. are vital yet seem to be neglected by the Government. This was evident when due to a lack of Ministerial engagement Ireland lost the Web Summit to Lisbon recently. Having studied Maths, Physics and Mathematical Modelling at Trinity and having worked as a software engineer and systems architect for a number of years it’s an area I have a huge interest in and am passionate about.
I am excited and looking forward to the challenge to promote and encourage growth in a sector which has had and can further have incredible benefits for our economy and workforce.