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

1. #CHILDREN FIRST: The Oireachtas Health Committee is to discuss the Children First Bill today, as it meets with a number of key stakeholders and interest groups in a bid to put ‘Children First: National guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children’ on a statutory basis. The Bill will place an obligation on those working with or having access to children to report to the HSE incidents of neglect, abuse or allegations of abuse.

2. #EXPENSES: More than one third of TDs returned some of their unused expenses for 2011, according to records newly published by the Oireachtas. In total, over €210,000 was returned to Leinster House authorities, with several Cabinet minister among those making returns.

One TD – Labour’s Eamonn Maloney – declined to claim any expenses for 2011.

3. #HSE: The HSE’s latest performance report has shown that 806 patients across the country have been on waiting lists for more than four years in an attempt to get medical attention, with lists at Waterford Regional Hospital being the longest. In total, more than 218,000 people were shown to be on waiting lists.

Meanwhile, the report also revealed that the HSE was €145 million over budget by March 2012.

4. #ABUSE: A group of Magdalene survivors met yesterday with Senator Martin McAleese to discuss state interaction with the Magdalene Laundries, according to the Justice for Magdalenes (JFM) group. Last week JFM submitted its first tranche of testimonies from women; the document, amounting to 519 pages, included contributions from a number of the survivors.

5. #TAX BILL: Independent TD Mick Wallace has settled a €2.2 million bill with the Revenue Commissioners over the underdeclaring of VAT by his construction firm, according to story published in this morning’s Irish Times. Wallace said today that it is unlikely the amount will be paid because he is not personally liable and the company is insolvent.

6. #CHILDREN: A new survey has revealed major differences in the costs incurred by parents depending on the ages of their children, showing that the cost of raising a child is at its highest during infancy and then again when they reach secondary school. The Cost of a Child by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice (VPSJ) concluded that, as a result, the child benefit allowance can cover as little as 11 per cent of those costs or as much as 67 per cent.

7. #CANCER: Radiation exposure from multiple CT scans administered during  childhood could triple the risk of leukemia and brain cancer, according to new research published in leading medical journal The Lancet. The authors of the Newcastle University-led study, the first of its kind, said the scans should only be used when necessary and that ways to reduce the radiation levels involved should be pursued.

8. #SYRIA: Amid reports of  a fresh massacre of civilians in Syria, leaders of Russia and China have said they oppose a military intervention in the country – but have instead called for dialogue. The opposition Syrian National Council has said that regime forces killed about 100 people, including women and children, in the central province of Hama yesterday.

9. #CUBA: Cuban man Felix Guirola has surprised onlookers with his novel method of negotiating downtown Havana’s chaotic streets: a 13 ft homemade bicycle.  ”I never get scared, nor have I fallen, and I obey all traffic laws,” the 48-year-old -who is edging on a world record – told reporters.

“Up there, I see the scenery better,” he added.

Fair enough.