Jim Mitchell loses long fight with cancer

FORMER Fine Gael deputy leader Jim Mitchell lost his three-year battle with cancer yesterday morning when he died in Dublin.

Mr Mitchell will be most remembered for his outstanding performance as chairman of the Public Accounts sub- committee that investigated the DIRT tax evasion scam in 1999 which netted 400m in back taxes.

It was the first time a Dáil sub-committee had taken on an investigative role and Mr Mitchell was determined that this type of inquiry would be seen as a viable alternative to expensive and bureaucratic tribunals.

But what a lot of people did not know was that Jim Mitchell was diagnosed with secondary liver cancer on the eve of the gruelling DIRT tax hearings.

He got the bad news by phone from his consultant as he was surrounded by top officials, but said nothing until the meeting was over and he had a chance to phone his wife Patsy.

Jim Mitchell battled on, making a success of the DIRT tax investigation that laid the blame for the millions in uncollected tax firmly at the doors of the financial institutions. The following year he had a liver transplant.

There was a lot of pubic support and sympathy for Jim Mitchell over the past three years when he was touted as a future party leader. Eventually, both he and Michael Noonan launched a joint heave against Fine Gael leader John Bruton two years ago and Jim became Fine Gael deputy leader.

The 56-year-old Dubliner and his brother Gay were regarded as the only Fine Gael deputies with working class credibility and he maintained these links as Ballyfermot United Sports and Social Club president between 1975 and 2001.

The Mitchells are an old Inchicore family and Jim was the seventh in a family of 10. His father died when he was very young forcing the older members of the family to go out to work, but Jim got a chance to go to Trinity College.

Jim Mitchell entered the Dáil 25 years ago and rocketed through the ranks of the Garret Fitzgerald-led party, becoming Lord Mayor of Dublin at the age of 29, and justice minister shortly after his 30th birthday. He went on to hold other top ministerial posts including: Transport, Post and Telegraphs, and Communications Minister in the '80s, Jim Mitchell tried to get CIÉ to be more commercial and, as justice minister, he recommended the setting up of a non-political panel to appoint judges. And when Fine Gael were in opposition, Jim Mitchell also held various front bench posts including: Social Welfare; Environment; Labour; Public Service and Justice.

Jim Mitchell represented three different Dublin constituencies before losing his seat last June in the nationwide collapse of the Fine Gael vote. He is survived by his wife Patsy, and their five children: Ruairi; Sinead; Neil; Aoife; and Caitriona.