Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much to the Minister. I only have very few comments. First of all, I welcome the fact that the advice that is given to the Government is still suggesting that we can move gradually towards lifting the safety measures that have been in place. We do need to consider that there are people who are very nervous still about the situation. So, one question: as the requirements in...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for the opportunity to respond. I just want to make it clear, as with the previous LCM, that we're not opposing the principle before us today; that's not what we're doing as Plaid Cymru in opposing these LCMs, but making a point once again that we can't ignore the fact that these motions are being made in the context of an increasing number of motions that undermine devolution, that...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Llywydd. In February, your Government announced that 53,000 care workers in Wales would receive a bonus payment of around £1,000. Now, any additional funding for workers in that sector is to be welcomed, of course, but one-off bonus payments aren't the answer. They don't get to grips with the real problem. What is needed is for workers in the care sector to be recognised...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: The Government has made a mess of the attempt to introduce bonus payments time after time, it has to be said, over the past few years. I said, a moment ago, that of course any additional payment is to be welcomed by those who receive it, but another major problem is that many aren't receiving it: kitchen workers and cleaners in care homes, as constituents of mine and the Unison union have...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 8. Will the Minister make a statement on Isle of Anglesey County Council's budget? OQ57935
Rhun ap Iorwerth: It's good to see some kind of loosening in terms of the budgets this year, but councils under the leadership of all parties will have faced major budgetary challenges over the past few years. But despite that, the situation in Anglesey has been transformed. In 2017-18 the Wales Audit Office criticised the council on Anglesey quite severely for how vulnerable its financial situation was and...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 9. Will the Minister make a statement on the seafood industry in Ynys Môn? OQ57936
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much. The Minister is aware that I've asked for a meeting with her for some time to discuss the need for investment in the seafood sector in Ynys Môn. I'm pleased that, since I tabled this question, a time has been agreed upon so that we can meet, and I look forward to meeting the Minister and her officials. There are numerous opportunities, I am clear on that, to develop this...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Will you take an intervention?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for taking an intervention. Absolutely—I think we all in this Chamber want to celebrate what we have to offer in terms of tourism. The difference here is between celebration, making the most of, and exploitation, and I actually welcome the dividing lines that have been made clear today. Conservatives, in everything you have said, seem to be very keen to see tourism as something to...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Dirprwy Lywydd. I couldn't quite believe that I was being given that briefing by the Minister and his officials last week, and I'm very grateful for that briefing. But to be fair, I don't think the Minister could believe that he was giving the briefing on such a sudden change of heart when it came to border facilities. I happen to represent the second busiest roll-on,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 3. Will the First Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government's target to eliminate hepatitis C in Wales? OQ58030
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for that response. At least 8,000 people in Wales have a chronic hepatitis C infection, but we could eradicate hepatitis C entirely. That's the good news. But, although eradication is possible, and Wales in the past has taken major steps towards eradication by 2030, the reality is that we have now fallen back and we're not on the right tracks to hit that target and there are now...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for the statement. I think I have three questions. There are few changes, if truth be told, by now. I'm pleased that the evidence, not so much the testing now, but the ONS evidence and the wastewater evidence—does suggest that the situation is improving. The first question is on schools and colleges, which I think see the greatest changes here given that face coverings are no...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: —I wrote to the First Minister on 27 April, asking him to correct the Record, the Senedd Record, after he said that responsibility for the COVID public inquiry 'has moved into the hands of the independent judge who has been appointed to lead it.' He was answering a question asked by Heledd Fychan. Now, as somebody who has called consistently for a Wales-only inquiry to ensure that issues...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Minister, for this statement. I don't disagree with the wording or the content, and I don't disagree with the aim here. Who would disagree with the aim of trying to create a healthier nation? What concerns me a little is that we could be tied up here talking about what we're trying to deliver but we don't see those robust steps that will take us step by step towards this aim. The...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 'Prevention at all stages needs to be embedded in our actions'.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: That is so true, but I don't see the signs of the kind of revolution I would like to see. I remember, after a recent statement, I accused the Minister of having missed a nought from the end of a figure that was being spent on preventative measures, and I mean it. We have to aim, ultimately, to spend less on healthcare, and the way of achieving that is that we are a healthier nation because...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd. It's Nurses Day tomorrow, and I'd like to thank nurses in all parts of Wales for their care and dedication. But I want to draw the Minister's attention to concerns that have been raised with me by a nurse, who tells me that they represent a significant number of nursing staff in Ysbyty Gwynedd. I was saddened to hear the nurse describing the working environment, describing...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I appreciate that. This nurse certainly was concerned about the staffing levels in general, and clearly the over-dependency on agency staff. I was told that the majority of nurses that came from Spain a few years ago, after a recruitment campaign, have returned to Spain. There are major gaps in the workforce. The Minister, I know, will have received a copy of the latest report by the Royal...
