EVERY WEEKDAY evening,TheJournal.ie brings you five stories you should check out by 5pm.

1. #ROSTREVOR One of the owners of the Rostrevor House Nursing Home has said that allegations of abuse at the facility are “unfounded and untrue”. Sarah Lipsett’s comments came as an appeal against the handing of control of the home over to the HSE was rejected in the Circuit Court. Meanwhile the Minister for Health James Reilly has confirmed that the Fair Deal nursing home scheme will resume approving applications from next Monday.

2. #INCOME TAX There could be an increase in income tax rates on the way next December after the finance minister Michael Noonan refused to rule out “any tax initiative, or any tax increase, or any tax reduction”.

3. #POPULATION Ireland’s population is projected to increase by 46 per cent by 2060 to 6.5 million. An ageing population will contribute to the rise, with 22 per cent of people living in Ireland in 2060 expected to be over 65.

4. #CUCUMBERS? They’ve already been wrong twice, but could the blame for Germany’s E.Coli deaths be returning to the cucumbers? German officials have said that a cucumber was discarded in a waste bin that belonged to a family who became ill in the eastern town of Magdeburg and contained traces of the bacteria.

5. #TWESTION TIME Dublin footballer Bernard Brogan talked tunes, study, Dublin to win….and Copper Face Jacks during his quick-fire question and answer session with TheJournal.ie earlier today.