EVERY WEEKDAY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you the five stories you need to know before you head out the door.

1. #POLITICAL STORM The relationship between the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste is ‘rock solid’, Education Minister Ruairí Quinn said today. He made the comments following speculation that the relationship between the two leaders is strained.

2. #THIEVES A distraught family is appealing for thieves to return two engraved watches that a father who recently died of cancer had left for his two sons. The items were taken from his parents’ house in Blackrock, Co Louth at the weekend.

3.#CAR Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said that there will be no Irish troops made available for a mission to the crisis-stricken Central African Republic. EU foreign ministers agreed today to send 500 troops to back up the existing deployment in the country.

4. #SHOPPING The retailer Tesco saw its market share fall over Christmas, while discount retailers Lidl and Aldi both experienced a boost in their market shares during the festive season. Meanwhile, Supervalu saw its market share rise above 20 per cent for the first time since 2009.

5. #SPAIN Spain’s new cardinal has been criticised for describing homosexuality as a ‘defect‘. Fernando Sebastian Aguilar (84) made the comments to a newspaper. A gay and lesbian rights group said they hope he will correct his words.