Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:27 pm on 26 January 2022.
I will only be taking a minute of time, and a lot of this is to praise the good work that my colleague Russell George has done. I know from a previous life, when I was cabinet member for economy on Powys County Council, just how much lobbying Russell, Craig Williams MP and the previous MP who was in this place once upon a time, Glyn Davies, did to try and get the moneys to restore the Montgomery canal, and I just want to pay tribute to you, Russell. Without your perseverance, I don't think this fantastic project would have come off, because, in my own constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire, we have the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal, and the benefit that provides to the wider economy here in Breconshire and wider into Peter Fox's constituency of Monmouthshire. The amount of people who come into our patches to use the canal is unbelievable, and I know, when the restoration is done in Montgomeryshire of your canal, just how much that is going to benefit your economy and the wider economy of mid Wales. And it's pleasing that all Governments have worked together, from UK Government to the Welsh Government, to make sure that we have a commitment of investment into mid Wales to boost the economy. So, thank you very much, Russell, for all your perseverance on this matter. Diolch yn fawr iawn.