EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the five biggest stories of the day.

1. #FACE MASKS: The National Bus and Rail Union has called for the compulsory wearing of face masks on all public transport as Ireland begins to ease Covid-19 restrictions.

2. #GOVERNMENT: The leaders of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party will commence formal negotiations this week with a view to forming a government.

3. #GARDAÍ: There has been a high level of compliance with Covid-19 guidelines to date, but members of An Garda Síochána were spat or coughed at over 50 times in recent weeks.

4. #UK: A total of 32,375 deaths involving Covid-19 have now been registered in the UK, according to the country’s Office for National Statistics – the highest death toll from the virus in Europe.

5. #PUBS: Tánaiste Simon Coveney has said there is “a possibility” pubs will open before 10 August, but that this would need to be “rigorously assessed” before any change to the current roadmap is made.