Every afternoon, TheJournal.ie brings you 5 things you really need to know by 5pm.

1. #BLOODY MARY: A Dublin city councillor was questioned after Health Minister Mary Harney had red paint poured on her while turning the sod at a new health centre in Ballyfermot. The incident soon became a trending topic among Irish Twitterers as the paint-wielding councillor Louise Minihan went on RTE’s Liveline to defend her actions.

2. #IRELAND’S CALL: Stephen Ireland’s new boss Gerard Houllier tells the midfielder that he needs to “work harder”. Houllier left Ireland out of Aston Villa’s derby clash with Birmingham yesterday.

3. #VOLCANO: Meltwater is flooding from a glacial lake in Iceland, with officials there fearing it could signal a volcano underneath is about to erupt. When the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, 100km away from this new scene of activity, erupted in April this year it caused chaos for air passengers.

4. #HSE: The Government has put aside €400 million to fund voluntary redundancy and early retirement schemes for managerial and administrative staff in the HSE. They are hoping that up to 5,000 employees will take up the offer before a December 30 deadline.

5. #BOMB PLOT: A Yemeni woman who had been held after a bomb was discovered on a US-bound plane at the weekend has been released after it was claimed she was a victim of identity theft.