EACH WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you five stories you really should check out by 5pm.

1. #FINANCE: Today Finance Minister Michael Noonan laid out the challenging state of the economy at Oireachtas Finance Committee, saying that there was no “magic bullet” for mortgage debt relief - but that public finances “remain on track”.

Noonan also dismissed a suggestion that he could question the legitimacy of David Drumm’s residency in the United States, saying the Director of Public Prosecutions was in charge of proceedings relating to the former Anglo CEO.

2. #CANCER: The number of cancer cases in Ireland has almost doubled since the mid-1990s, with lung cancer cases significantly increasing among young women. However survival rates have also improved, according to the National Cancer Registry’s latest report.

3. #HOMOPHOBIA: A group that provides support services to young gay people has said that the results of a study which shows that two thirds of young gay men have experienced homophobic bullying are “not surprising”. Eexecutive director of BeLongTo, Michael Barron, told TheJournal.ie that bullying was also a “huge issue” for young women.

4. #SYRIA: Syria has been accused of shirking the United Nations’ nuclear investigation after Damascus said it would not be able to provide information about its nuclear activities until October. The delayed cooperation – coming on top of increasing international on President Bashar Assad over human rights abuses in the counrty - will likely add to concerns that Syria is in the early stages of a secret programme that could be harnessed to produce nuclear weapons.

5. #IDANCE: Don’t you just hate it when you can’t track down your nearest Riverdance show?

Well, those days of anguish are at an end – the Riverdance app has arrived. Get all the latest news from the dance troupe, as well as dancers’ blogs and fan reviews, at the touch of a button on the iPhone, iPad and Android. (All together: phew!)