Rhun ap Iorwerth: I was very pleased, a few days ago, to see the Welsh Government noting Llangefni station as one that could be reopened in future. This emerges directly from the work that my predecessor, Ieuan Wyn Jones, did as Minister for transport, in commissioning a feasibility study on the potential of reopening the line from Gaerwen, through Llangefni, to Amlwch—something that I know would bring huge...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I was delighted that the Assembly unanimously last week supported a Plaid Cymru amendment to the Public Health (Wales) Bill, which will mean that there will be a Government strategy to tackle obesity on the face of that Bill. And I’m grateful to Members of all parties and to the Government for supporting that. Does the First Minister agree that our clubs and professional sporting...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you to everyone who has contributed today. The purpose of this debate and the purpose of the motion is clear and very simple, I believe. I think that the Conservatives are eager to transfer more powers and funding for the health service to the private sector. The evidence shows that. The figures—. The 8 per cent of the budget going to...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: The figures I quoted were of the money going into the private sector, which I admit is growing slowly, but it’s exactly this ‘death by a thousand cuts’ that threatens the future of the NHS. [Interruption.] From a sedentary position, the Conservative health spokesman asks if I’m going to talk about Wales. This is the context in which the future of the Welsh NHS will try to survive. In...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Diolch, Llywydd. It seems remarkable, in a debate such as this, that we’re going to have to go over some of the basics of how the Welsh Government receives its funding and why the decisions of how England chooses to run its national health service are relevant to both the financial and workforce decisions that are possible in Wales. So, for the benefit of people who perhaps don’t...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: But it isn’t just on the alleged privatisation and austerity where there are concerns due to the political structure of Wales being overly dependent on decisions made by politicians in London. The transatlantic trade and investment partnership talks that were ongoing a couple of years ago attracted major concern because of the effects that such a deal could have on the NHS. Had TTIP been...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Formally.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Formally.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: We missed one out there, I think.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Plaid Cymru is pleased to support these amendments. We often hear about the difficulties that patients of all ages face when there is a variety of public bodies responsible for the services that they receive. This, of course, includes young people. They are no different. Indeed, one could argue that they are in more complex positions on occasion, if you add the school or educational...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: We will be supporting this group of amendments from the Government. Amendment 22 in particular reflects the concerns that I raised, as we heard from the Minister, during the Committee Stage in relation to the level of ability that we think is required for the tattooing of an eyeball. We proposed that only those registered with the General Medical Council, possibly, should be allowed to...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Formally.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd. I appreciate that the consensus that has been achieved during the passage of this Bill through the committee stages has been reflected here again in the Chamber. Each and every one of us at the beginning of this journey was aware that we were talking about a problem and a crisis here, and we all wanted to find a way of including it on the face of the Bill. What we have...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Llywydd, and it’s a huge pleasure to move these amendments formally today to commence our proceedings on the Stage 3 debate on the Public Health (Wales) Bill. We have been here before, of course. But, as this Bill reached this stage on the last occasion, and it was resubmitted in this Assembly, there was no reference at all to the major public health problem that we as a nation...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Does the First Minister truly understand how much of a crisis there is facing us in terms of mental health care in Wales? In Ynys Môn, I understand that there is now not a single psychiatric consultant for mental health patients between 18 and 65 years of age. Mental health professionals are working under huge pressures that they can’t cope with and they fear that they are having to make...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I wanted to ask about a specific service, a service that’s important to Ynys Môn council, and other councils across Wales, and that is roads. There’s a tendency to see roadworks increasing substantially during the first months of the year, as the end of the financial year approaches. But, this isn’t the best way of ensuring the quality of the work or value for money, because the winter...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 4. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on the services provided by Ynys Môn Council? OAQ(5)0116(FLG)[W]
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. At present, 177,000 people in Wales live with diabetes. It’s possible that around 70,000 additional people suffer from it but they’re not aware of it or haven’t received a confirmed diagnosis, and by 2030 it’s expected that that number will be around 300,000 people. So, while having diabetes is a major issue for the person who is suffering from it,...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I must say I’m personally very excited about the Champions League final coming to Cardiff. I was kicking an official Cardiff 2017 replica football around the garden with a very excited 13-year-old last night. And as happy as I was to contribute £14.99 to the merchandising companies for that particular ball, we want to make sure that Wales is the real beneficiary here. We are talking about...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: On behalf of Steffan Lewis, who is a member of the committee, may I thank the Finance Committee Chair for his statement today and for discussing the important opportunity we have in terms of improving not only the transparency of ministerial appointments, but also the Assembly’s ability to hold the Government to account? It’s a very timely statement, if truth be told, given that the...
