Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’m pleased to participate in this debate. May I thank the Conservatives for bringing this topic forward today? Given that I have the job of trying to persuade the Conservatives to support our amendment 4, I’m sure I shouldn’t say anything too negative about the Conservatives, but I’m afraid that I do have to start by pointing out the...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: It is incumbent on me to point out the irony in the position that you take as a party that has wholesale failed completely to introduce the kind of equality on a UK level that you say we want to see in Wales. There's no hiding that both main UK parties, in governing for decades, for generations, have failed to bring equality to the UK. And you're quite right, we need to talk about how we...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: By the way, I’m not one who likes to talk about everything going to the south—it’s a very populist thing to do in north Wales. It’s not a north/south split that we have in Wales, but there is a difference between the east and the west, where there is prosperity in the north-east and the south-east that does need to be disseminated to the rest of Wales. But we must seek ways and means...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Will you take an intervention?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for taking an intervention. Is that good enough reason for you to support our amendment today, calling specifically for creating those centres of agglomeration in various sectors, down particular areas of rural Wales?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Just briefly, there are projects, of course, that aren't involved in deals. I proposed one, suggested yesterday, on Anglesey—the reopening of the Gaerwen to Amlwch railway line—an important kind of transformative project. I was disappointed that the Government and your benches voted against my amendment yesterday, but I will give you one more chance to say that Government is eager to work...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Will you take a further intervention?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I made the point earlier that the idea behind our regional renewal Bill is to give the kind of focus to Government that the welfare of future generations Bill gives you. You could do all of that without the legislation, but the legislation helps.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I had the pleasure last week of visiting an engineering company, BICO in Beaumaris in Anglesey, which does superb work in the area of engineering in very specialist technical areas. It’s a company that I’m sure we could see growing in years to come. You will be aware that I and my party are in favour of the regionalisation of economic development in order to ensure that economic...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much. I’ve been on the HMRC website today, looking at what would happen in terms of customs arrangements if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal. It’s incredibly complex. It starts by explaining that simplified customs procedures are what is set out. There is nothing simple about this, and, of course, there’s a way of keeping it simple, and that’s to remain...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Formally.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: The First Minister's title is the same in Welsh—[Inaudible.]
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you. Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. I won't keep you; I just wanted to add to the very short debate that we've had on the parallels with the Republic of Ireland. Oireachtas—and forgive me my pronunciation—is the name of the Parliament; you have the Dáil Éireann and the Seaned Éireann as Chambers within that Parliament. If you do go and Google and put 'Oireachtas' in there,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Will you take an intervention?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Do you also find it worrying and very distressful that it's only when they've been backed into a corner by this Plaid Cymru motion today that they have actually taken this step?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: On my five-hour journey from Bangor to Cardiff yesterday evening, I looked at a map of the Welsh rail network and it reminded me that this isn't a network created for Wales, if truth be told. We need investment in expanding the network in order to connect Wales. We need to invest across the west coast line of Wales. But investment in the rail network is expensive, of course. We need to think...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: The food and drink industry in Wales issued a report last summer saying that UK consumers wanted to see more Welsh produce. That was at the same time as, of course, Welsh produce was rebranded as British produce at the Royal Welsh Show last year. Can the Minister update us on what the Government has been doing since then to try to stop this rebranding of Wales by the British state?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 1. Will the Minister make a statement on the effect of Honda’s decision to close its factory in Swindon on the supply chain in Wales? 281
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Diolch yn fawr iawn. This clearly is a worrying announcement for us. It's thought, I think, that around a dozen companies are direct suppliers, including Kasai—200 workers in Merthyr Tydfil—Toyoda Gosei in Gorseinon—600, I think, there—Mitsui in Ammanford—over 100. It's a very long list and, of course, those companies have their own supply chains as well. So, there's a knock-on....
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Someone came to see me in a surgery last week, as it happens—a mother who was grieving for her daughter following suicide. She was in grief, and she was asking 'Why?' Why couldn’t more have been done to help her? Why were those things that were obvious to her now as signs that her daughter’s life was in danger not obvious to her at the time? She had been in contact with mental health...
