English: Diolch, acting Presiding Officer. I would like to thank our committee Chair and the committee clerks for their amazing work throughout this inquiry. COVID-19 certainly meant that this was no ordinary inquiry. Remote working made holding such an inquiry even more challenging. However, the challenges faced by committee members pale into insignificance when compared with the challenges faced by the wider community. COVID-19 has caused the deaths of over 1 million people around the globe, and over 1,600 people in Wales. Sadly, even those who do recover from this awful disease can be left with long-term, life-limiting conditions. I have had constituents tell me that they still struggle to breathe months offer recovering from COVID-19. The long-term impacts of long COVID are only starting now to be understood, but Governments must help those impacted and ensure that they receive all the necessary support. The toll that COVID-19 is having continues to rise as infections continue to spread, and, in order to try to halt an exponential rise in the death toll, Governments closed down large parts of the economy, causing one of the biggest economic collapses in history. As our committee discovered, the downturn has hit and disproportionately impacted the most disadvantaged in our society, and limited the life chances of younger generations. Measures designed to limit the spread have also disproportionately impacted the mental health and well-being of older people and those with disabilities. While we take measures to stop the spread of coronavirus, we have to mitigate the impact that they have on people's lives, and the best way we can limit the impact that COVID has on people's lives is to move away from lockdowns. Unfortunately, we can only do that if everyone obeys social distancing, wears a mask in public places and practices good hand hygiene, because the selfish actions of a few have led to outbreaks and the inevitable imposing of stricter restrictions on people's lives, restrictions that have an impact on people's mental health and economic well-being, restrictions that have had a disproportionate impact on younger generations. Young people have had their schooling interrupted, their exams cancelled and university life changed dramatically. As the committee discovered, shutdown measures have hit the youngest workers the hardest, with employees under the age of 25 almost three times as likely to have been working in shutdown sectors. Those same young workers will be the ones left footing the bill for the billions of pounds that have been spent and will continue to be spent dealing with the impacts of this pandemic - the very same generation that will be left struggling with the devastating impacts of climate change and ecological disaster. The biggest inequality of this pandemic has been the fact that, although young people are the least likely to suffer the serious effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, they are the most likely to be impacted by measures aimed at curbing its spread. I urge the Welsh Government to do all it can to mitigate the impacts, to do all it can to ensure there won't be any further lockdowns and to provide additional support to improve the life chances of the under-25s. Diolch yn fawr.
Welsh: Diolch, Lywydd dros dro. Hoffwn ddiolch i Gadeirydd ein pwyllgor a chlercod y pwyllgor am eu gwaith anhygoel drwy gydol yr ymchwiliad hwn. Yn sicr, fe olygodd COVID-19 na fu hwn yn ymchwiliad cyffredin. Roedd gweithio o bell yn gwneud cynnal ymchwiliad o'r fath hyd yn oed yn fwy heriol. Fodd bynnag, mae'r heriau a wynebir gan aelodau'r pwyllgor yn pylu'n ddim o'u cymharu â'r heriau a wynebir gan y gymuned ehangach. Mae COVID-19 wedi achosi marwolaeth dros 1 filiwn o bobl ledled y byd, a thros 1,600 o bobl yng Nghymru. Yn anffodus, gall hyd yn oed y rheini sy'n gwella o'r clefyd ofnadwy hwn wynebu cyflyrau hirdymor sy'n cyfyngu ar fywyd. Cefais etholwyr yn dweud wrthyf eu bod yn dal i'w chael hi'n anodd anadlu fisoedd ar ôl gwella o COVID-19. Nid yw effeithiau COVID hirdymor ond yn dechrau cael eu deall, ond rhaid i Lywodraethau helpu'r rhai yr effeithir arnynt a sicrhau eu bod yn cael yr holl gymorth angenrheidiol. Mae'r effaith y mae COVID-19 wedi'i chael yn parhau i gynyddu wrth i nifer yr heintiau barhau i ledaenu, ac er mwyn ceisio atal cynnydd esbonyddol yn y gyfradd sy'n marw, caeodd Llywodraethau rannau helaeth o'r economi, gan achosi un o'r cwympiadau economaidd mwyaf mewn hanes. Fel y darganfu ein pwyllgor, mae'r dirywiad wedi taro ac wedi effeithio'n anghymesur ar y rhai mwyaf difreintiedig yn ein cymdeithas, ac wedi cyfyngu ar gyfleoedd bywyd cenedlaethau iau. Mae mesurau a gynlluniwyd i gyfyngu ar y lledaeniad hefyd wedi cael effaith anghymesur ar iechyd meddwl a lles pobl hŷn a phobl ag anableddau. Er ein bod yn cymryd camau i atal y coronafeirws rhag lledaenu, rhaid inni liniaru'r effaith a gaiff ar fywydau pobl, a'r ffordd orau y gallwn gyfyngu ar yr effaith COVID ar fywydau pobl yw symud oddi wrth y cyfyngiadau symud. Yn anffodus, ni allwn wneud hynny heb i bawb ufuddhau i fesurau cadw pellter cymdeithasol, gwisgo masg mewn mannau cyhoeddus ac arfer hylendid dwylo da, oherwydd mae gweithredoedd hunanol rhai pobl wedi arwain at gynnydd yn nifer yr achosion a chamau anochel i osod cyfyngiadau llymach ar fywydau pobl, cyfyngiadau sy'n effeithio ar iechyd meddwl a lles economaidd pobl, cyfyngiadau sydd wedi cael effaith anghymesur ar genedlaethau iau. Amharwyd ar addysg pobl ifanc, cafodd eu harholiadau eu canslo a newidiodd bywyd prifysgol yn ddramatig. Fel y darganfu'r pwyllgor, y gweithwyr ieuengaf sydd wedi'u taro galetaf gan y mesurau cau, gyda chyflogeion o dan 25 oed bron deirgwaith yn fwy tebygol o fod yn gweithio mewn sectorau a gaewyd. Yr un gweithwyr ifanc hynny fydd yn gorfod talu'r bil am y biliynau o bunnoedd a wariwyd ac a fydd yn parhau i gael eu gwario i ymdrin ag effeithiau'r pandemig hwn - yr un genhedlaeth ag a adewir i frwydro yn erbyn effeithiau dinistriol newid yn yr hinsawdd a thrychineb ecolegol. Er mai pobl ifanc yw'r lleiaf tebygol o ddioddef effeithiau difrifol yn sgil feirws SARS-CoV-2, anghydraddoldeb mwyaf y pandemig hwn yw mai hwy sy'n fwyaf tebygol o gael eu heffeithio gan fesurau sy'n ceisio cyfyngu ar ei ledaeniad. Rwy'n annog Llywodraeth Cymru i wneud popeth yn ei gallu i liniaru'r effeithiau, i wneud popeth yn ei gallu i sicrhau na fydd unrhyw gyfyngiadau pellach ac i ddarparu cymorth ychwanegol i wella cyfleoedd bywyd pobl dan 25 oed. Diolch yn fawr.