EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you need to know this morning.

1. #SOCIAL WELFARE: Almost 900 people have had their benefits cut by around 23 per cent for not taking up employment or training offered to them, according to Minister Joan Burton. Speaking at a Labour Youth summer school in Kilkenny, the minister also indicated that Labour will resist any major cuts to social welfare in Budget 2013.

2. #APOLOGY: Former IRA leaders are considering making an apology to all IRA victims through the years, including members of the British Army, the Sunday Business Post reports this morning.

3. #PAC: A report compiled by the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee says that questions remain unanswered in its inquiry into the events surrounding the bank guarantee of September 2008, the Sunday Independent reports. The report is due to be released when the committee meets again on Thursday.

4. #FRANCE: A new law takes effect in France today which makes it compulsory for drivers in France to carry breathalyser kits in their vehicles, the BBC reports. Foreign drivers are covered by the legislation, however motorists who breach the law will not have to pay fines until November.

5. #RESIGNATIONS: In the past 85 years, just six TDs have resigned from the Dáil. Could you name them?

6. #SYRIA: An international conference in Geneva concerning the ongoing violence in Syria has agreed a new peace plan involving a Syrian-led power transition. However, it’s not clear what role President Assad would play in such a transitional government.

7. #BUSKING: Loud buskers could be barred from the streets of Killarney following complaints by residents about street performers using amplifiers as they compete for the attentions of passers-by.

8. #EU VOTE: British Prime Minister David Cameron has suggested in a piece in the Sunday Telegraph that he is prepared to call a referendum on Britain’s relationship with the EU, but says that he doesn’t agree “with those who say we should leave”.

9. #BUSTED: Four people have been arrested in North Carolina after one of them phoned the wrong person when discussing an illegal drug deal. They had accidentally dialled a sheriff’s deputy. All four were charged with felony possession of cocaine.