EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories, just a little before nine, that you need to know with your morning coffee.

1.#CRASH: Northern Ireland’s richest man Edward Haughey, a former member of Seanad Eireann, has died in a helicopter crash. Haughey was one of four people killed after a helicopter crashed in Norfolk in England.

2.#RIP: The veteran British Labour Party MP Tony Benn has died. The left-wing campaigner was a supporter of a united Ireland. He was 88.

3.#MH370: The US Navy has sent a second ship to help in the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines plane. The US now believes that the plane could have come down in the Indian Ocean.

4.#ERRORS: Over €3 million has been sent “down the drain” after a plan to build new offices for the State Pathologist were scrapped. The Public Accounts Committee was told the plan was a “comedy of errors”.

5.#SHOOTING: Two men were injured in a shooting in Ballyfermot last night. The men, one in his 20s and one aged 53, were shot at a house in Clifden Drive in Ballyfermot.

6.#CHARITIES: A new survey has found that 90 per cent of people who give to charity regularly are less trusting of organisations. The survey shows that people are more alert to the behind-the-scenes workings of charities they give to.

7.#MIGRANTS: As Irish politicians make the case for amnesty for illegal citizens abroad, the Immigrant Council of Ireland says the same must be done here. The Migrants Rights Centre Ireland says that government’s silence on migrants plights is “deafening”.

8.#NETWORKING: Six TDs and one MEP will today launch a ‘loose’ alliance. The Independents’ Network aims to encourage and assist independents to contest at local government level. Their website will carry information for those looking to run in this years elections.

9.#THEY’RE OFF: The Taoiseach and Tánaiste are in Washington and Paris today, as the traditional St Patrick’s Day diplomatic visits get underway. Gilmore will spend three days in the French capital, meeting French President Francois Hollande.