Every afternoon, TheJournal.ie brings you five things you really need to know at 5 o’clock.
1. #GE11: Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has said that he will not appear on “any programme that Vincent Browne has anything to do with”.
Kenny cited previous comments made by Browne on the topic of suicide as the reason for boycotting any debate being led or moderated by him. He said, however, that his personal opinion of Browne would not impact on his feelings of TV3.
2. #MORTGAGES: Permanent TSB is to stop offering fixed-rate home loans to new customers.
The move means that customers will have to take out variable-rate mortgages in future – and risk having their mortgage repayments hiked at short notice.
3. #GE11: Fianna Fáil deputy leader Mary Hanafin has called for a debate between the deputy leaders of all the major parties.
The suggestion has been well-received: Labour deputy leader Joan Burton said that she would debate with “anyone, anywhere”, Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said she would “absolutely” be up for the challenge, and James Reilly Fine Gael said that he would have “no problem” with the proposal.
Greens deputy leader Mary White said she might be interested – but added that she would prefer an all-woman debate.
4. #OBESITY: One in ten adults in the world is obese - and Irish men are among the most overweight male adults in Europe.
A new study published in respected medical journal The Lancet found that Swiss women have the lowest average BMI in Europe – while Turkish women, Czech men and Irish men had the highest BMI in Europe.
5. #OMFG! Exposé presenter Karen Koster has been chastised by the Broadcasting Authority over her use of the phrase “OMFG” during an recent episode of the TV3 show.
A father complained to the BAI after having to explain what the initialism meant to his four-year old daughter.
To bring it into context, the offending sentence was: ”OMFG Glenda! One member of Girls Aloud has been axed. Here’s everything you need to know…”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say