English: It's easy to see these regulations - wrongly - as part of a policy on culture; it's actually a health measure that we're talking about today, and we will be supporting the regulations on the basis that half a loaf is better than no bread. I heard the eloquent plea by Siân Gwenllian today to go further, and I very much sympathise with it. It won't please them to know it, but Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg have produced some written evidence with which I very largely agree. They say that they recommend a specific stance should be added confirming the rights of both in-patients and out-patients to receive clinical consultation, treatment and care through the medium of Welsh, and Siân Gwenllian has explained why this is very necessary for the very young, for perhaps the very old, and perhaps the not so old, who unfortunately suffer from dementia or related conditions, where the ability to attend a consultation through the language in which you can best express yourself is going to be the language through which you may best be diagnosed and therefore treated. That's a vitally important issue, which needs to be properly recognised. I fully understand the reasons why the Minister has not felt able to go so far, but I do think that Siân Gwenllian made a good point when she referred to the degree of flexibility that exists within the scheme that has been set up by the 2011 Measure. I do believe that there should be an aim set in legislation for the right to receive face-to-face treatment or diagnosis through the language of your choice, and the explanatory memorandum to these regulations does explain why this would not necessarily come into conflict with the obvious practical difficulties that we have, not having enough professionals able to deal with patients through the medium of Welsh. The evidence that we've seen from the British Medical Association is also an interesting point to add to that: we mustn't have the Welsh language being perceived outside Wales as an impediment to the recruitment of professionals within Wales, and I do believe that that is an important point, which we must always bear in mind. But the explanatory memorandum to these regulations explains, I think, quite clearly, that the scheme that the commissioner is obliged to implement gives her - 'her' at the moment, at any rate - the power to be flexible, as Siân Gwenllian said. The commissioner may 'require a body to comply with one standard in some circumstances and another standard in other circumstances', 'the Commissioner may require the body to comply with the standard in some circumstances but not others, or require it to comply with the standard only in some areas.' Similarly, where there are two or more standards relating to a specific conduct, 'the Commissioner mayrequire a body to comply with one of those standards only, or with different standards at different times, in different circumstances, or in different areas'. I think that's a fully comprehensive possibility of introducing flexibility into the scheme. So, I do hope that although we'll support these regulations today - and I know for a fact that the Minister would like to go further and is only inhibited by what she sees as practical difficulties at the current time - that, within a relatively short time, we will be able to go further towards the realisation of this objective. Because I do believe that it's important for people to have the assurance that they can use the health service in a way that is best for them. It is a national health service, and that includes, obviously, Welsh speakers - and, indeed, Welsh monoglot speakers, for that matter - as well as everybody else, and so I think it's important for reasons of inclusivity. It's important for reasons, as we all know, of achieving by the year 2050, if we can, a million Welsh speakers, but it's more important, I think, that we see this as a measure that is going to provide the best possible health service for everybody in our country.
Welsh: Mae'n hawdd gweld y rheoliadau hyn - yn anghywir - fel rhan o bolisi ar ddiwylliant; trafod mesur iechyd yr ydym ni heddiw mewn gwirionedd, a byddwn ni'n cefnogi'r rheoliadau ar y sail bod hanner torth yn well na dim bara. Clywais apêl huawdl Siân Gwenllian heddiw i fynd ymhellach, a chydymdeimlaf yn fawr iawn â hynny. Ni fydd clywed hyn yn ei phlesio hi, ond mae Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg wedi cyflwyno rhywfaint o dystiolaeth ysgrifenedig yr wyf yn cytuno â hi i raddau helaeth. Maen nhw'n dweud eu bod yn argymell y dylid ychwanegu safbwynt penodol yn cadarnhau hawliau cleifion mewnol a chleifion allanol i gael ymgynghoriad clinigol, triniaeth a gofal drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg, ac mae Siân Gwenllian wedi egluro pam mae hyn yn angenrheidiol i blant ifanc iawn, efallai i'r rhai sy'n hen iawn, ac efallai i'r rhai nad ydynt mor hen, sydd yn anffodus yn dioddef o ddementia neu gyflyrau sy'n gysylltiedig â hynny. Mae cael ymgynghoriad drwy'r iaith y gallwch fynegi eich hun orau ynddi, yn golygu mai'r iaith honno yw'r orau ar gyfer cael y diagnosis gorau ac felly cael y driniaeth orau. Mae hynny'n fater hanfodol bwysig, ac mae angen ei gydnabod yn briodol. Rwyf yn deall yn iawn y rhesymau pam nad yw'r Gweinidog wedi teimlo y gall fynd mor bell, ond rwyf yn credu bod Siân Gwenllian wedi gwneud pwynt da pan gyfeiriodd at faint o hyblygrwydd sy'n bodoli o fewn y cynllun a sefydlwyd gan Fesur 2011. Rwyf i'n credu y dylid gosod nod mewn deddfwriaeth ar gyfer yr hawl i gael triniaeth neu ddiagnosis wyneb yn wyneb drwy gyfrwng iaith o'ch dewis, ac mae'r memorandwm esboniadol ar gyfer y rheoliadau hyn yn egluro pam na fyddai hyn, o reidrwydd yn gwrthdaro â'r anawsterau ymarferol amlwg sydd gennym, sef y prinder o weithwyr proffesiynol sy'n gallu ymdrin â chleifion drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg. Mae'r dystiolaeth a welsom gan Gymdeithas Feddygol Prydain hefyd yn bwynt diddorol i'w ychwanegu at hynny: Allwn ni ddim gadael i'r Gymraeg gael ei gweld o'r tu allan i Gymru fel rhwystr i recriwtio gweithwyr proffesiynol yng Nghymru, ac rwyf i'n credu bod hwnnw'n bwynt pwysig y mae'n rhaid inni ei gadw mewn cof bob amser. Ond mae'r memorandwm esboniadol ar gyfer y rheoliadau hyn, yn fy marn i, yn esbonio'n glir iawn bod y cynllun y mae'r Comisiynydd yn gorfod gweithredu yn rhoi iddi hi - 'hi' ar hyn o bryd, beth bynnag, y pŵer i fod yn hyblyg, fel y dywedodd Siân Gwenllian. Gallai'r Comisiynydd ei gwneud yn ofynnol i gorff gydymffurfio ag un safon mewn rhai amgylchiadau ac â safon arall mewn amgylchiadau eraill. gall y Comisiynydd ei gwneud yn ofynnol i gorff gydymffurfio â'r safon mewn rhai amgylchiadau, ond nid mewn eraill, neu ei gwneud yn ofynnol iddo gydymffurfio â'r safon mewn rhai meysydd yn unig.' Yn yr un modd, pan fo dwy neu fwy o safonau sy'n ymwneud ag ymddygiad penodol, gall y Comisiynydd ei gwneud yn ofynnol i gorff gydymffurfio ag un o'r safonau hynny yn unig, neu â gwahanol safonau ar wahanol adegau, mewn amgylchiadau gwahanol, neu mewn meysydd gwahanol. Credaf fod hynny'n ei gwneud hi'n gwbl bosibl i gyflwyno hyblygrwydd i'r cynllun. Felly, rwy'n gobeithio, er byddwn yn cefnogi'r rheoliadau hyn heddiw - a gwn yn sicr yr hoffai'r gweinidog fynd ymhellach a'i bod yn cael ei chyfyngu dim ond gan yr hyn y mae'n eu gweld fel anawsterau ymarferol ar hyn o bryd - y byddwn, o fewn cyfnod cymharol fyr, yn gallu mynd ymhellach tuag at wireddu'r amcan hwn. Oherwydd rwyf i'n credu ei bod hi'n bwysig i bobl fod yn sicr y gallant ddefnyddio'r gwasanaeth iechyd mewn ffordd sydd orau iddyn nhw. Mae'n wasanaeth iechyd cenedlaethol, ac mae hynny'n cynnwys, yn amlwg, siaradwyr Cymraeg - ac, yn wir, Cymry uniaith, o ran hynny - yn ogystal â phawb arall, ac felly mae'n bwysig o ran cynwysoldeb. Mae'n bwysig am y rheswm, fel yr ydym ni i gyd yn gwybod, ein bod eisiau cyflawni, os gallwn ni, y dasg o gael miliwn o siaradwyr Cymraeg erbyn y flwyddyn 2050, ond mae'n bwysicach, rwy'n credu, ein bod ni'n gweld hwn fel mesur sy'n mynd i ddarparu'r gwasanaeth iechyd gorau posibl ar gyfer pawb yn ein gwlad.