English: I want to thank the Wales committee, led by June Milligan, and the staff at the commission, for their work on these very important issues. I wanted to start by highlighting the inequality and discrimination faced by the Gypsy/Roma/Traveller young people in particular, some of which is highlighted in this report. Two weeks ago I attended Travelling Ahead's tenth national forum at Baskerville Hall in Hay with 50 young people from the Gypsy/Traveller/Roma community and many of the organisations working with those communities, and with Assembly Commission staff. The day was really an inspiring day - the young people were filled with enthusiasm and they were so glad to have the opportunity of putting forward their views about their place in society. I took part in a group that discussed the lack of awareness of Gypsy/Traveller culture, in particular by schoolteachers and other pupils in the schools. And one of the quite simple wishes of those children was that there could be a special assembly devoted to their culture. Many of the children did say, in fact, that they never said that they were a Gypsy - they hid their origins - because as soon as people knew they were a Gypsy, people's attitudes towards them changed immediately. What did come over in the discussions was the huge importance of the Traveller education service, and many of the children said that they wouldn't be at school at all if it wasn't for the support of the service, and, as the report points out, only one in five Gypsy/Roma/Traveller children leave school with five GCSEs at A-C grade, which is a damning indictment, really, of the education service that we are providing for them. I know there has been a lot of concern about how the Traveller education service has been affected by the lack of ring fencing for the education improvement grant. I don't know whether the Cabinet Secretary, in his response, would be in a position to say how that service has been affected or whether he would need to refer it to the leader of the house when she comes back. But I do think it's very important that we do have actual evidence about how the Traveller education service is being affected. Also, in 'Is Wales Fairer?' there is reference to the fact that Gypsy/Roma/Traveller families, along with transgender people and refugees and asylum seekers, continue to experience difficulties accessing quality health services, and I wanted the Cabinet Secretary also to look at that, because I know we did have a special inquiry into how we should provide services for the Traveller community, and I wanted to know what was the follow-up to that. It does seem that prejudice against Gypsies is the last acceptable prejudice. I've been approached by the Traveller community about the publicity following the funeral at Rover Way in Cardiff, which resulted in traffic jams in parts of the city. The comments that were put on Facebook following the WalesOnline article were absolutely shocking, saying things like, 'Auschwitz is empty at the moment' and other horrifying comments. How are people, human beings, supposed to feel if these comments go up publicly on the internet, on social media? How are they ever going to feel as part of society? I think this is a huge challenge for us all, and I think that, whenever we all speak, we must be aware of how people feel, how they respond to comments we make and anything that leads to those sort of comments. But one of the very positive things that's happening at the moment is the setting up of the youth parliament, and it's really exciting, I think, that voting is now taking place. There are 480 candidates. I'm absolutely thrilled that, on the top-up list, there will be a place for a Gypsy/Roma/Traveller young person, and, on the day that I was at Baskerville Hall, the young people were voting for their choice. It just seemed to me that this was absolutely the right way that we should go as a society - to make an effort to include people who are not included naturally and where there is this awful prejudice. They were so excited. They had their manifestos. There were three young people who were competing against each other and it just felt such a positive thing that this was happening, and I felt very proud that the Assembly was doing this and that this opportunity would be offered, because there's an awful lot to fight against.
Welsh: Hoffwn ddiolch i bwyllgor Cymru, dan arweiniad June Milligan, a staff y comisiwn, am eu gwaith ar y materion pwysig iawn hyn. Roeddwn i am ddechrau trwy dynnu sylw at yr anghydraddoldeb a'r gwahaniaethu yn erbyn pobl ifanc Sipsiwn/Roma/Teithwyr yn arbennig. Mae peth o hyn wedi'i amlygu yn yr adroddiad hwn. Pythefnos yn ôl es i i ddegfed fforwm cenedlaethol Travelling Ahead yn Neuadd Baskerville yn y Gelli, lle'r oedd 50 o bobl ifanc o'r gymuned Sipsiwn/Teithwyr/Roma, a llawer o'r sefydliadau sy'n gweithio gyda'r cymunedau hynny, a staff Comisiwn y Cynulliad. Roedd hi'n ddiwrnod hynod o ysbrydoledig - roedd y bobl ifanc yn llawn brwdfrydedd ac mor falch o gael y cyfle i fynegi eu barn ar eu lle mewn cymdeithas. Cymerais i ran mewn grŵp a oedd yn trafod y diffyg ymwybyddiaeth o ddiwylliant Sipsiwn/Teithwyr, yn arbennig ymhlith athrawon a disgyblion eraill yn yr ysgolion. Ac un o'r dymuniadau eithaf syml a oedd gan y plant hynny oedd cael gwasanaeth arbennig wedi'i neilltuo i'w diwylliant nhw. Mewn gwirionedd, fe ddywedodd llawer o'r plant na fydden nhw byth yn dweud eu bod yn Sipsiwn - roedden nhw'n cuddio'u tarddiad - oherwydd byddai agweddau pobl tuag atyn nhw yn newid ar unwaith o wybod eu bod yn Sipsi. Yr hyn a ddaeth i'r amlwg yn y trafodaethau oedd pwysigrwydd aruthrol y gwasanaeth addysg i Deithwyr, a dywedodd llawer o'r plant na fydden nhw yn yr ysgol o gwbl heb gefnogaeth y gwasanaeth, ac, fel y nodir yn yr adroddiad, dim ond un ym mhob pump o blant Sipsiwn/Roma/Teithwyr sy'n gadael yr ysgol â phum TGAU gradd A-C, sy'n feirniadaeth lem, mewn gwirionedd, o'r gwasanaeth addysg yr ydym yn ei ddarparu ar eu cyfer. Gwn y bu llawer o bryder ynghylch sut y mae diffyg neilltuo arian ar gyfer y grant gwella addysg wedi effeithio ar y gwasanaeth addysg i Deithwyr. Nid wyf yn gwybod pa un a fydd modd i Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, yn ei ymateb, ddweud beth fu'r effaith ar y gwasanaeth hwnnw neu a fyddai angen iddo gyfeirio at arweinydd y tŷ pan ddaw hi yn ôl. Ond rwyf yn credu ei bod yn bwysig iawn cael tystiolaeth wirioneddol o'r effaith ar y gwasanaeth addysg i Deithwyr. Hefyd, yn 'A Yw Cymru'n Decach?' ceir cyfeiriad at y ffaith bod teuluoedd Sipsiwn/Roma/Teithwyr, ynghyd â phobl drawsryweddol a ffoaduriaid a cheiswyr lloches, yn parhau i wynebu anawsterau wrth gael gafael ar wasanaethau iechyd o safon, a hoffwn i Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet edrych ar hynny hefyd, oherwydd gwn ein bod wedi cael ymchwiliad arbennig i sut y dylem ddarparu gwasanaethau ar gyfer y gymuned Teithwyr, a hoffwn i wybod pa waith dilynol a wnaed i hynny. Mae'n ymddangos mai rhagfarn yn erbyn Sipsiwn yw'r rhagfarn dderbyniol olaf. Mae aelodau'r gymuned Teithwyr wedi dod ataf i sôn am y cyhoeddusrwydd yn dilyn yr angladd ar Ffordd Rover yng Nghaerdydd, a arweiniodd at dagfeydd traffig mewn rhannau o'r ddinas. Roedd y sylwadau a gafodd eu postio ar Facebook yn dilyn yr erthygl ar WalesOnline yn gwbl syfrdanol, gan ddweud pethau fel, 'Mae Auschwitz yn wag ar hyn o bryd' a sylwadau erchyll eraill. Sut mae pobl, bodau dynol, i fod i deimlo os yw sylwadau fel hyn yn cael eu cyhoeddi ar y rhyngrwyd, ar gyfryngau cymdeithasol? Sut maen nhw byth yn mynd i deimlo eu bod yn rhan o'r gymdeithas? Rwy'n credu bod hyn yn her enfawr i bob un ohonom, ac rwy'n credu, pan fyddwn ni i gyd yn siarad, bod yn rhaid inni fod yn ymwybodol o sut y mae pobl yn teimlo, sut maen nhw'n ymateb i'n sylwadau ni ac unrhyw beth sy'n arwain at y mathau hynny o sylwadau. Ond un o'r pethau cadarnhaol iawn sy'n digwydd ar hyn o bryd yw sefydlu'r senedd ieuenctid, ac mae'n hynod o gyffrous, yn fy marn i, bod pleidleisio yn digwydd yn awr. Ceir 480 o ymgeiswyr. Rwyf i wrth fy modd y bydd, ar y rhestr atodol, lle i berson ifanc o'r gymuned Sipsiwn/Roma/Teithwyr, ac, ar y diwrnod yr oeddwn i yn Neuadd Baskerville, roedd y bobl ifanc yn pleidleisio dros eu dewis nhw. Roedd yn ymddangos i mi mai dyma'n llwyr y trywydd iawn y dylem ni fynd arno fel cymdeithas - i wneud ymdrech i gynnwys pobl nad ydyn nhw'n cael eu cynnwys yn naturiol a lle ceir rhagfarn echrydus. Roedden nhw'n gyffro i gyd. Roedd ganddyn nhw eu maniffestos. Roedd tri pherson ifanc yn cystadlu yn erbyn ei gilydd ac roedd yn teimlo fel petai hyn yn rhywbeth cadarnhaol iawn, ac roeddwn i'n falch iawn bod y Cynulliad yn gwneud hyn ac y byddai'r cyfle hwn yn cael ei gynnig, oherwydd mae llawer iawn i frwydro yn ei erbyn.