EVERY AFTERNOON, TheJournal.ie brings you the five things you need to know at 5 o’clock.

1. #EMPTY BEDS: Outgoing Taoiseach Brian Cowen officially opened the Midlands General Hospital in Tullamore yesterday, four years after the hospital opened. However, HSE figures show that despite local waiting lists, one in four beds at the hospital remain closed.

2. #AUCTION: A bargain basement property auction is promising family homes for around €100,000. Check out TheJournal.ie‘s slideshow of some of the properties on offer, including an apartment block for €210,000.

3. #COALITION: Despite suggestions made in radio reports earlier today, the Labour Party has confirmed there is no guarantee its coalition negotiations with Fine Gael will conclude today.

4. #REBEL: Footballer Stephen Ireland has insisted he was misquoted earlier in an apparent attack on his hometown of Cork.

5. #NASA: The Glory satellite may become known as one of NASA’s greatest misnomers after the rocket launching the satellite failed to separate today, forcing the whole thing into the Pacific Ocean. An investigation into the failed launch is underway.