Here in Wales, we have had some of the longest periods of restrictions on our social activity in the world, so it is little wonder that we have experienced some of the greatest impacts. We are, for the most part, social animals, and spending time with friends and family is a vital part of our emotional and mental well-being. Having to cut all face-to-face contact for a staggering 212 days has seen far greater numbers of people suffering from loneliness and isolation, and those suffering from loneliness have been further isolated.

The halt to care home visits has left many people struggling, and this has been particularly hard for dementia patients. They don't always understand the reason behind the restrictions and feel they've been abandoned by their loved ones. This is also traumatic for the families of those in care. It must be heartbreaking to be unable to visit their loved ones, especially for those on palliative care.

Loneliness and isolation haven't just hit the elderly hard, they've impacted on people across the age spectrum, people from all walks of life, and with many people working from home or furloughed, often the only time they see another human being is over a video link. But a Zoom meeting cannot replicate in-person interactions. This is particularly true for young people—young people who have had not just their ability to go outside and play with their friends curtailed, but their education and development stunted.

What has been more damaging, however, has been the on-again, off-again in-person learning, as well as the inconsistent approach across the age ranges. People do not understand why their siblings can go to school, but they have to stay home. Some school pupils returned to the classroom a few weeks ago and more cohorts returned this week, but others will not return for another month. Children have experienced anxiety about returning, and parents are reporting that their child has developed behavioural issues. And it's a terrible burden for young people to bear. Young people are concerned about their education, their future, and many parents have reported finding their child in tears because they're worried about passing the virus on to their parents or grandparents. I find it heartbreaking that children must deal with such issues and that they must be concerned about their future, rather than being able to enjoy the present.

Yet, they're not alone in being anxious about the future. So, to combat the disease, we shut down large parts of the economy, closed entire sectors, resulting in many people becoming out of work, and, thankfully, we had the job retention scheme that saw millions of people furloughed, rather than laid off. But those people are worried about whether the business they work for will survive post pandemic. Anxiety about future economic stability has pushed many people into mental ill health. Far too many sleepless nights have resulted over people's concerns about providing food and shelter for themselves and their family.

However, mental trauma hasn't been confined just to those out of work. Working during the pandemic has been stressful for many, especially those who could not maintain social distancing. Police officers, prison guards, firefighters and all those on the front line in health and social care have put themselves at risk of contracting a deadly disease in order to keep us all safe. And those working in the NHS and care homes have also had to deal with seeing their patients and sometimes colleagues lose their lives to COVID-19. So, we have seen harrowing tales of doctors and nurses likening work during the pandemic to being in a war zone, so great was the death toll. Nurses had to work for hours in painful PPE, doing physically demanding tasks, such as turning COVID patients so they didn't drown from fluid on their lungs. They then had to sit with patients as they died, so that they wouldn't face their end alone. Witnessing such dreadful things has taken its toll, with staff unable to take time off to recuperate because there's no-one to take their place.

Thankfully, most people do not have to experience that level of mental trauma, but very few have come through the past 12 months unscathed. COVID-19 may have started as the biggest public health challenge in more than a century, but it is now becoming the biggest mental health challenge we have ever faced, also. So, what can we do about it? I welcome the investment by the Welsh Government to offer online cognitive behavioural therapy to everyone in Wales over the age of 16, but we must do so much more. We need to employ an army of therapists and counsellors. We have to put counsellors in every school, encourage every employer to offer emotional and mental health support to their staff. We have to ensure everyone in Wales gets whatever support they need.

We need to encourage landlords to allow tenants to keep their pets. This might seem like a strange request, but it's no coincidence that pet ownership skyrocketed during lockdown. Pets can help us deal with loneliness and isolation, and having a dog can spur people to leave the sofa and go out for a walk, helping to boost our mental health resilience. Unfortunately, a lot of landlords, and particularly social landlords, prevent pet ownership. I've been dealing with Tai Tarian, who refused to allow one of my constituents to get a dog. Thankfully, I learned last night that she has been granted an emotional support dog, following pressure from her GP. But people should not have to fight for emotional support. We must be flexible and provide whatever support is needed. Tai Tarian is no exception, but pleasingly not all social landlords are negative towards pet ownership, as in the case of Hafod Housing, who look at the size of your accommodation and that determines the size of the dog that you can have.

Yesterday, the Royal College of Physicians called upon the Welsh Government to deliver on their commitment to make staff health and well-being a national priority, and I agree with this. Health and care staff looked after us, so we must look after their mental well-being. Unless we tackle the emotional and mental fall-out of the coronavirus pandemic head on and now, we will see a lot more than one in four of us suffering from mental ill health. Diolch yn fawr. Thank you very much.