Could I declare an interest as a designated Member who has this as one of my responsibilities as part of the co-operation agreement?

I'm very delighted to be able to contribute to this debate today, a debate that's very important to our democracy as a nation and one that has the potential to be historic, as we prepare the ground for the devolution of broadcasting to Wales. And I don't use the word 'historic' lightly, as we discuss the issue of the devolution of broadcasting. As we've heard from Heledd Fychan, Cymdeithas yr Iaith and Plaid Cymru called for the establishment of an independent broadcasting authority over 50 years ago, and here we are, 50 years later, following decades of protesting and lobbying and campaigning, today, in our own Senedd, taking a step closer to realising the ambition that we set in the 1970s by exploring the possibility of creating a shadow broadcasting and communications authority for Wales, with the aim of creating a solid evidence base to support the case for the devolution of broadcasting powers to Wales in this particular area. And I'd like to thank everyone who has campaigned for this over past decades.

I want to pay tribute also to the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee of the fifth Senedd, and the committee Chair, Bethan Sayed, particularly for the report published in 2021 on the devolution of broadcasting—a report that sets out the challenges but also the potential for strengthening our media in Wales. As Bethan Sayed said in her foreword to the report, 

'The supply of media content for Wales is inadequate. We don't have the provision of news and current affairs that Wales needs, hampering the political and civic life of our country.'

This means that

'we do not see ourselves reflected on our screens.'

And that's the point, perhaps, and it may be time for the party opposite to understand that we don't see enough of our own story as Welsh people on our screens at present. And even though there has been growth in global streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon, which has been seen a lot more on our screens, that doesn't mean that more programmes portray the lives of the people of Wales, never mind the provision through the medium of Welsh. 

And as well as today's announcement, and the agreement between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government, which hopefully will prepare the way for the devolution of broadcasting, we've also lived through a very difficult period over recent years, a period that will write its own chapter in history books in the future.