Darren Millar: Suicide bombs, car bombs, roadside bombs have been planted—
Darren Millar: —by the PKK and they have claimed the lives and changed the lives of many innocent civilians and their families, including children. The PKK has been accused of being involved in the narcotics trade, child smuggling, tax evasion and counterfeit-money production. As recently as 2016, Human Rights Watch alleged that groups affiliated to the PKK have recruited boys and girls to be soldiers in...
Darren Millar: —by the EU, the United States, Japan and NATO.
Darren Millar: The primary aim of the PKK, of course, has been to establish an independent Kurdish state in south-eastern Turkey, Syria and Iraq, but the PKK also wants to monopolise Kurdish political power, and it has done this by showing intolerance, suppressing opposition and attacking the interests of rival Kurdish political groups.
Darren Millar: Since the establishment of the PKK back in 1978 on a far-left revolutionary Marxist philosophy, tens of thousands of people have died.
Darren Millar: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the amendments tabled in my name. I have to say that many will call into question whether it's a good use of the National Assembly's time for us to be holding an opposition debate on foreign affairs and matters that are non-devolved, particularly at a time when Wales is facing huge domestic challenges that demand our attention. Many will also find...
Darren Millar: The First Minister, as I've quite rightly said, is absolutely clear on this issue, but the health Minister seems to not be interested in this issue of collective responsibility. And, frankly, anyone who's not prepared to abide by collective responsibility in any Government ought to resign. [Interruption.] Let me just—[Interruption.] Let me just remind you—[Interruption.] Let me just...
Darren Millar: Diolch, Llywydd. Brexit Minister, who do you agree with when it comes to whether there should be a second referendum on the UK's membership of the EU—the First Minister or the health Minister?
Darren Millar: Well, that was a good attempt at a body swerve, but you didn't actually answer the question. You're quite right to say that the First Minister did say that it would be divisive and may not be decisive if there were to be a second referendum, and he made it quite clear that there was no support for a second referendum from the Welsh Government at this current stage. But, of course, that's very...
Darren Millar: One of the reasons that those figures are better, though, is because we've simply got patients stacked up in corridors rather than actually in cubicles being seen by medical professionals, and you will know that one of the regions that has the worst emergency department performances is north Wales, where we have the Betsi Cadwaladr health board in special measures for all sorts of...
Darren Millar: You seem to be playing with words unnecessarily, Minister, with respect. The only reason you hit your previous target was because of the take-up of e-cigarettes by many tens of thousands of people across Wales who use them to quit smoking. But, of course, they took them up off their own bat because they were not available—as is not the case in England where they are available—through...
Darren Millar: You may or may not be aware, health Minister, that today is No Smoking Day across the UK, which encourages people of course to take up the opportunity to explore quitting smoking. But, Public Health Wales have shown in their projections that they're expecting you as a Government to miss your target of reducing the prevalence of smoking across Wales to 16 per cent by 2020 and that you're...
Darren Millar: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Minister, can I ask you what plans the Welsh Government has to prevent a stall in the fall in smoking rates in Wales?
Darren Millar: I welcome the opportunity for this statement today, and I do think it was quite disrespectful in terms of the way that this question was introduced by the leader of Plaid Cymru. We know that the House of Commons has rejected the Prime Minister's withdrawal deal in spite of the assurances that were given by the EU in relation to the backstop yesterday, and, of course, there will be further...
Darren Millar: Will the Minister make a statement on the resources available for Welsh schools?
Darren Millar: I move.
Darren Millar: Can I thank the Minister for her statement? I do welcome much of what she has said today. Can I thank in particular the Minister for the Welsh Government's investment in Mochdre, in Llanfair Talhaiarn and in Abergele, all of which have been outlined in the statement? Can I welcome as well the investment that has taken place in places like Colwyn Bay and in Kinmel Bay in the past, in my...
Darren Millar: Can I thank the Minister for her statement today on this very important subject? The Minister will be aware that Clifford Jones Timber in Ruthin is one of the largest producers in the UK of wood and timber posts. And I know that you visited Clifford Jones yourself to talk about some of their concerns about timber supply, particularly levels of conifer planting in terms of that coming through...
Darren Millar: Can I call for a statement from the Welsh Government to the Trefnydd in respect of sepsis management in the health service? Many of my constituents have been alarmed to read that over the past three years, or between 2016 and 2018, there's been a significant increase in north Wales in terms of the number of sepsis related deaths: up from 151 in 2016 to 238 in 2018. Now, I know that hospital...
Darren Millar: First Minister, can I welcome the work that the Welsh Government has put in with other partners to support our veteran community across Wales, and to embed the armed forces covenant in our public services? One of the issues that was recently discussed at the Cross-Party Group on the Armed Forces and Cadets was the difficulty sometimes that many veterans face in trying to access employment...
