EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you up to speed with the five things you should know as you head out the door.

1. #TAX GIMMICKS: Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said that Ireland does not give any special tax deals. Coming under pressure by reporters in Brussels, where he is attending a European Council meeting on tax, he said that Ireland’s corporate tax rate is statute based, clear and transparent.

2. #BIG BUCKS: RTE’s Director General Noel Curran told an Oireachtas Communications Committee that the station’s stars are being paid “too much”. He said he had reduced the pay of the top ten earners, adding that “during the boom” remuneration of the top presenters became too much. Curran said there had been a 21 per cent reduction in staff in the last five years and further personnel cuts are expected in the future. He also admitted that RTE is “far from perfect”.

3. #SPENDING MONEY: Donegal has the lowest disposable income per person at just €16,106, according to the latest CSO figures on the quality of life in Ireland. Dublin people have the most spare cash at their disposal at €21,515 as well as the highest rate of employment. The CSO document is wide-ranging, covering household waste to penalty points.

4. #ABORTION: Jerry Buttimer, the politician in charge of reporting back to government on the expert testimony ahead of new abortion legislation has told TheJournal.ie that the publishing timetable before the Dáil’s summer recess is “tight” but that he thinks that “it can be done”.

5. #COSTA CONCORDIA: The captain of the Costa Concordia faces 20 years in jail if convicted at a manslaughter trial. At a hearing in Italy, it was agreed captain Francesco Schettino be tried on charges of manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning the vessel.