Samuel Kurtz: I'm very grateful for the opportunity to contribute to today's debate. And firstly, may I pay tribute to the work of my colleague Mark Isherwood, and the work he's undertaken during his time in this place, to provide a voice on a subject that is often difficult and emotional to discuss? I also add my praise to those hard-working staff employed on the front line of the palliative care sector,...
Samuel Kurtz: Can I thank the Minister for advance sight of this afternoon's statement? I also refer Members to my register of interests. Firstly, I would like to begin by paying tribute to every farmer across Wales. Despite the physical, mental and economic burden that this disease inflicts, our farmers remain committed to the job in hand. The data that the Minister has described this afternoon is...
Samuel Kurtz: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. And, Minister, I was delighted to see on Thursday a very happy and smiling First Minister, and a very happy and smiling Prime Minister up in Holyhead, and yourself smiling alongside the Secretary of State for Wales at Port Talbot yesterday, in celebration of the Celtic free-port bid. And what has been really transformational about this—and I say that—is the...
Samuel Kurtz: Diolch, Prif Weinidog. I've previously raised the serious concern amongst local dentists in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire about the Welsh Government's current policy direction. And like Cefin, a senior member of Dyfed Powys's local dental committee shared his views that the large financial penalties that were being threatened on dentists if they failed to meet what were described as...
Samuel Kurtz: I will most certainly take an intervention.
Samuel Kurtz: I'm grateful to the Member for intervening. I can imagine that the autumn budget released extra, additional funding for both education and the health service, by the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, last October. But we are here to debate health services here in Wales. We are elected by the people here in Wales to sit in a Welsh Parliament. I recently spoke—[Interruption.] Well, I'm very happy to...
Samuel Kurtz: As colleagues have highlighted, Llywydd, the issue of good, reliable and safe access to healthcare remains one of the defining topics of correspondence in my inbox from constituents of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire. So, with the immense privilege that it is in representing those people, I felt that I needed to contribute today. I want to focus my contribution on healthcare in west...
Samuel Kurtz: This isn't a debate, much like Russell George and Sam Rowlands, that I take great pleasure in speaking in, and it’s one that I have wrestled with internally throughout the day. [Interruption.]
Samuel Kurtz: I'm not going to sit down, as the Deputy Minister suggested. I'm not going to sit down because I need to contribute on behalf of my constituents in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire.
Samuel Kurtz: Minister, ensuring that RDP spending is effectively allocated and delivered is key to ensuring that it delivers value for money, while supporting the development of rural communities. In the most recent Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee meeting, you stated that you will no longer be setting up a rural development advisory board to advise on the content and delivery of the domestic...
Samuel Kurtz: Will the Minister provide an update on rural development programme expenditure?
Samuel Kurtz: Prif Weinidog, Welsh NHS waiting lists continue to dominate my inbox. One of my constituents living with osteoporosis and five broken vertebrae has had to wait two years to be seen by a pain specialist. We are still awaiting the final decision on the location of a new hospital in west Wales—a build that won't be completed until the end of this decade at the earliest. Until that time, what...
Samuel Kurtz: 8. Will the First Minister provide an update on access to healthcare in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire? OQ59325
Samuel Kurtz: Thank you very much for that response, Deputy Minister.
Samuel Kurtz: I'm sure, Deputy Minister, you will be aware of my enthusiasm for the new St Clears railway station in my constituency of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire. This is a project that the community is incredibly invested in. However, there is concern from Carmarthenshire County Council about shortfalls in potential source funding. I wrote to you, Deputy Minister, on 20 January to raise...
Samuel Kurtz: Can I raise a point of order, Llywydd?
Samuel Kurtz: It's not true. There's a BBC tweet saying that's untrue. That's all.
Samuel Kurtz: Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a round-table with the south Wales industrial cluster as they launched their decarbonisation plan. While at the meeting, I was delighted to be shown a tweet from your Twitter account, First Minister, celebrating consent being given for Blue Gem Wind's Erebus project off the south Pembrokeshire coast. Floating offshore wind, this joint venture between...
Samuel Kurtz: 4. How is the Welsh Government supporting the renewable energy industry? OQ59277
Samuel Kurtz: 3. Will the Minister provide an update on access to public transport in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire? OQ59268
