TOM O'HIGGINS'S political career lasted 25 years yet he held office for less than three of those years. It is partly for this reason and partly because it is almost a quarter of a century since he left politics that to many today he appears as a somewhat forgotten political figure.
Such a view, however, is very far wide of the mark. Any close examination of O'Higgins's career shows him to have been a substantial figure, certainly in the history of his own party, but also as a minister, a parliamentarian and a jurist.
Tom O'Higgins's contributions to Fine Gael are incalculable. It is easy to forget that in the 1940s Fine Gael was in a state of seemingly permanent decline. In 1944, two men in particular held Fine Gael together, its leader, Dick Mulcahy, and the deputy leader, Dr Tom O'Higgins. In the worst of wartime bleakness they travelled the country, often on motorbikes because of wartime rationing, searching for new candidates, encouraging the faithful and trying to ignite enthusiasm where little existed.
It was his father's sense of public duty which decided Tom O'Higgins to play an active part in politics, fighting his first Dail election in 1944, but more importantly in helping to bring together a group of youthful and talented people such as Paddy Lynch, Alexis Fitzgerald, and Tom and Bill Finlay. This group produced its own newspaper, the Forum, which, unusually in the 1940s, was strongly policy driven and represented a conscious attempt to raise debate from the Civil War rut or Emergency inertia.
Tom O'Higgins had two significant achievements as Minister for Health. The first was the skill with which he implemented the Health Act inherited from his predecessor, and in the process restored good relations within health after the controversies of the previous decade. More significant, however, was the establishment of the VHI. Previous attempts at establishing a voluntary health scheme had failed. O'Higgins grasped the central importance of a national scheme and worked relentlessly at it, and with the Government collapsing all round him in 1956, pushed the legislation on to the statute books.
It was the last and probably the most significant act of that Government and entitles O'Higgins to be seen as the man who set up the VHI - a revolutionary move in the health services.
In the period after 1957, O'Higgins was one of those trying to move Fine Gael in a more liberal direction. He had no difficulty with the attempts by Lemass to industrialise the country, but he was critical of the seeming dominance of big business and the absence of a social dimension to these new policies. His stand led to strains within Fine Gael because what he wanted in essence was greater State involvement in pursuit of social justice. James Dillon was lukewarm about much of this given his deep seated suspicion of "Statism".
In any event, O'Higgins, Declan Costello and others succeeded in having the Just Society adopted in 1965, too late to influence the election, but undoubtedly a factor in making possible the 1973-77 coalition, and an important factor in much of Garret FitzGerald's success in the post 77 period.
Tom O'Higgins's decision to run for president in 1966 had far reaching consequences. It took place in the midst of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of 1916. President de Valera was pre eminently a 1916 man who didn't have to campaign, he merely presided over the celebrations O'Higgins, however, used the campaign to move away from 1916 and focus on the problems and opportunities of the future.
In the event, the campaign was a spectacular success, showing there was a great impatience and desire for change, forcing a debate between "old" Ireland and a still undefined "new" Ireland, and coming within 10,000 votes of victory. O'Higgins had demonstrated the existence of a mood for change which his party did little to exploit in the subsequent period. More significantly, the blue print for the presidency offered by O'Higgins was not all that different Lo that of Mary Robinson 24 years' later.
O'Higgins played a key and steadying role in the controversy at the time of the Dublin bombs in 1974, which split the party and almost led to the resignation of Liam Cosgrave. He was a strong "coalitionist", playing a big part in drafting the inter party agreement of 1973 and always maintaining close contacts with Labour. Had he not decided to run for the presidency in 1973, he would have had one of the senior ministries in that Government and might well have succeeded Liam Cosgrave in 1977 rather than Garret FitzGerald.
That, however, is conjecture. He did go on to be Chief Justice and later a judge of the European Court. As Chief Justice he was not a pioneer - his career in politics gave him a conservative view of the role of the Supreme Court vis a vis the other institutions of State. However, there were two landmark decisions - on extradition and Article Three. To both of these judgments he brought a grasp of public affairs not usual with judges whose careers have rarely had first hand experience of politics.
Politics can be a rough business with little room for sentiment. One of Tom O'Higgins's great contributions was - is - his willingness to give honest, disinterested, informed advice, whether to the Taoiseach of the day or to an obscure backbencher. In all his advice there has always been a strong sense of public service and of the duty of politicians to serve the public good.
