Rhun ap Iorwerth: What we have asked for is a genuinely independent review of the proposal and the statistics that underpin it. The modelling system used wasn't designed for this the sort of thing. Many of the additional patients that apparently could be reached have already been addressed by enhancements to the Cardiff base. Remember the recent reports on the service, highlighting the need to enhance the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much. I appreciate your description of the situation and I'm very pleased that you have asked for today's comments to be borne in mind. But, can I ask for your views on a point of principle? Do you agree with me that it would be inappropriate to increase the number of patients reached in one part of Wales at the expense of those people who live in other areas? We all want to...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I am very grateful to the Member for Monmouth for choosing this particular topic. It was a genuinely thoughtful and well-reasoned contribution. I'm sure that he himself would admit that these aren't entirely new ideas that he's mentioned. We do need to bring these ideas together in this way to the Senedd, because we do need to innovate in these ways to solve some of the issues that we're...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I do think there's real benefit in thinking in a joined-up way about offshore wind off the west coast of Wales—the Celtic and Irish seas. I think the free-port bidding process offers an opportunity to do that. Now, as you can imagine, I'm confident in the quality of the Holyhead/Ynys Môn north Wales free-port bid for what it can offer in terms of growing that sector, as well as mitigation...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: May I ask for an urgent statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services about the consultation currently underway by the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee, even though it's very difficult to find information about the consultation regarding changes proposed to fertility treatment in Wales? I'm concerned, although the consultation is still ongoing, and has been extended,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I'll begin in a constructive way with those areas where I agree with the Minister. On non-pay issues, I'm pleased that there's serious focus on staff welfare and that reducing agency costs is a part of what Government sees as the way forward, although I couldn't quite get the First Minister's attitude today, when he seemed to be defending the structures through which agency working currently...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 6. What discussions has the Minister had with other Ministers regarding the funding of preventive health measures across the Government? OQ58961
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much for that response, but it's the same old sermon from me, I'm afraid. We need to do much, much more on the preventative agenda if we are to make Wales a healthier nation, and right across Government. In Anglesey there are genuine concerns about the future of the national exercise referral scheme, or NERS, because of a lack of investment. Now, the £145,530 that the council...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Will you take an intervention?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: To me, you won't be surprised to hear, making sure that Holyhead is the key port for the next generation of offshore wind in the Irish sea is very, very important. The free port bid developed by Ynys Môn and Stena for the north of Wales could be key in that. I'm sure the Member would be glad that the campaign was successful to get a level playing field in terms of funding for free ports in...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I'm pleased to have the opportunity to move this motion. To continue in the spirit that we've seen in the Senedd this afternoon, I will emphasise that this motion is intended to be constructive. Yes, it is critical of the Welsh Government's management of health and care services, and I'm afraid that is based on the clear evidence before us. But this...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: It's a former head of research at General Motors, Charles Kettering, who said nearly a century ago now that 'a problem well stated is half solved'. Now, when this Senedd declared a climate emergency, it was a declaration that the challenge we faced on climate change was so extraordinary that it needed to be elevated, to be elevated within our national psyche, to be elevated in terms of...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: But we have to accept that there is a crisis first of all. I described the situation as it was at the time during health questions here in the Siambr in December, and I referred to a series of challenges, as I saw them that day, including winter pressures, the recruitment and retention of staff, waiting times for treatment in A&E, ambulance waiting times, and so on and so forth. I asked the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thanks for taking an intervention. One suggestion would be to make sure that the NHS Executive for Wales that's been set up really is a body that can make a difference—that has teeth. That's the kind of focus that I mean in terms of Government structures.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: If the Minister will take an intervention, I'll gladly explain that again.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: What I said was top of the list was to resolve that pay dispute.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. My biggest fear this afternoon would be that I would hear the Minister saying, 'We're already doing everything that needs to be done to resolve the crisis.' What we heard was the Minister saying that everything is already in train, everything is already being done to resolve this crisis. It clearly isn't, and that runs contrary to all the evidence that we have in...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Yes, certainly.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I don't have enough time to describe the damage that I believe would be caused to the national health service if the Conservatives were in charge. I will move swiftly on, and back to the comments that we heard from the health Minister, who again deflected blame, time and time again, and said there had been unprecedented demand. Of course there's unprecedented demand, but that unprecedented...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much to Janet Finch-Saunders for presenting this debate. I'm pleased that we are keeping hydrogen on the agenda. It's almost three years, I think, since I led a debate here on hydrogen—I think it was one of the first here in the Senedd; I've presented another one since then. And since then, we've seen the beginnings of a hydrogen industry in Wales. I was very pleased to see...
