EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning cup of coffee.

1. #SEAL OF CONFESSION: A clash between Justice Minister Alan Shatter and the Catholic Church seems inevitable over the introduction of child protection laws after priests indicated to the Irish Independent that they are not willing to break the Seal of Confession to disclose information about sex abuse despite mandatory reporting.

2. #PRISONS: Prison officers have claimed that the Irish Prison Service ignores the activities of criminal gangs in prison and the situation is worsened by overcrowding at the facilities, RTÉ reports.

3. #TROIKA: Officials from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund will today complete their sixth review of Ireland’s performance under the bailout programme. They are expected to deliver a positive grade so the next tranche of the €67.5 billion pot can be paid out.

4. #SYRIA: France’s Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has said the international community should consider taking more serious action – including military interventions – if Kofi Annan’s peace plan fails to stop violence in Syria.

5. #BLOOD DIAMONDS: After deliberating for more than a year, international war crimes judges are expected to give their verdict on the case against former Liberian president Charles Taylor. Examining charges of trading arms for ‘blood diamonds’, murder, terrorism, rape, sexual slavery and recruiting child soldiers, the trial heard evidence from actress Mia Farrow and model Naomi Campbell. We’ve taken a look back at some of the other key moments of the five-year proceedings.

6. #SEVERANCE: According to the Irish Times, billionaire Denis O’Brien wants to stop what he calls an “unduly generous” €1.87 million severance package from being paid out to ousted chief executive Gavin O’Reilly. During a legal challenge, the High Court was told by O’Brien’s representatives that the “unlawful” agreement was made in “indecent haste”.

7. #SHOOTING: A 33-year-old man has been taken to hospital suffering with gunshot wounds after an incident in Coolock, Dublin this morning.

8. #WATER: There has still been no decision made on who will pay for water “lost” through leaks when metering is introduced in 2014. On average, over 42 per cent of Ireland’s water is “unaccounted for”, making the country’s water supply chain one of the least efficient in the EU. Yesterday, Enda Kenny refused to rule out water disconnections but said that those who are “prudent” will not be financially affected.

9. #FOOTBALL: In the word’s of TheScore.ie‘s Niall Kelly, the Champions League finalists have been decided after two evenings which could reaffirm your faith in the beautiful game – “two completely different games, played out in completely different manners, with completely different climaxes”. And it was “wonderful stuff”. Bayern Munich will welcome Chelsea to their home turf on 19 May after beating Real Madrid 3-1 on penalties last night. Real’s Ronaldo, Kaka and Ramos all missed from the 12-yard spot.

(Seemingly, this was manager Jose Mourinho’s reaction to that Ramos miss: H/T @OllyNoonan)