As a long-term Fine Gael supporter, I face a dilemma over party

That the coalition is in disarray and heading for meltdown is no longer in dispute.

The reason has less to do with the Irish Water fiasco, or the raft of broken promises, or even the securing of the financial lifeboats for themselves, the insiders and their cronies as the ship of state went down.

Of course it has a lot to do with the hamfisted, brutal and lopsided policy of austerity and the resultant catastrophic financial, emotional and personal devastation for many, particularly among the most vulnerable in society, the young, the sick, the disabled and the aged.