More than a thousand anti-household tax protesters took to the streets of Dublin last month, to march on Dail Eireann before the politicians headed for their extended holidays. Despite poor weather and short notice, the turnout was impressive and the mood was one of anger and determination.

It was a timely reminder to Minister Phil Hogan and the Fine Gael/Labour government that the largest mass movement against austerity, backed up by almost 700,000 non-payers was still going from strength to strength.

Denis O Brien became a very rich man because he used his connections with Fine Gael to get access to state resources. In a devastating report, the Moriarty Tribunal has shown that Fine Gael operates exactly the same as Fianna Fail when it comes to favouring its big business ‘donors’.

Look at the facts:

* Between March 1995 and June 1996, O Brien or his companies supported 14 Fine Gael Fund raising events.

*He or his companies donated £22,140 to Fine Gael at this time.

At the beginning of 2011 overcrowding in A&E and hikes in VHI and Aviva private Health Insurance highlighted the long-term problems of capacity and funding in the Irish health service.

The implosion of Fianna Fail and the decision of the Labour Party to rule out a left wing coalition might mean, in a worst case scenario, that a Fine Gael led government is a likely outcome of the election.

But exactly does Fine Gael stand for? An examination of their policies makes interesting reading.