Every afternoon TheJournal.ie brings you 5 things you really need to know by 5pm.

1. # UH-OH: According to the Central Statistics Office, Ireland’s economic output fell by 1.2% in the three months of this year between April and June 2010.

The statistics also show that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was down about €500m on the first quarter, while Gross National Product (GNP) fell by 0.3% during the same period. If the trend continues, and the economy shrinks in the third quarter, Ireland will have definitively plunged back into a second, ‘double-dip’, recession.

2. # POLITICS: Galway west TD Noel Grealish has threatened to pull government support if it proceeds with plans to cut health funding for the west of the country.

He said: “I have come to the conclusion that it is time for an election and let the people decide. The amount of money this Government is pumping into Anglo Irish Bank is intolerable when we have a health system that is on its knees.”

3. # ALCOHOL: Fine Gael has opposed a plan to allow 15 to 17-year-olds test purchase alcohol as part of a garda operation, saying it would amount to entrapment.

Fine Gael’s justice spokesperson, Alan Shatter, added that asking children to volunteer in the plan would make them vulnerable to threats or attacks, if their identities became known.

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said that the plan was not to trap licence holders, but to catch the ones who are “flouting the laws”.

4. # GAZA FLOTILLA: A special UN panel set up to examine the raid on an aid flotilla heading to Gaza in May has concluded that Israel violated international law.

The UNHRC panel ruled that Israel had used “disproportionate” and “brutal” force and has accused the state of war crimes. The panel has also ruled that the Israeli blockade of Gaza is illegal due to the scale of human suffering that it has resulted in.

5. # KATY PERRY: The singer’s duet with Elmo on Sesame Street has been pulled from the show after complaints over her dress.

Perry has responded by saying that the low-cut dress was and veil she was wearing were “dress-up clothes”.

In the clip, Perry sings a version of her hit ‘Hot N Cold’ with Elmo.