English: I'm pleased to contribute to today's debate and to support this motion - a motion that was moved very eloquently, as usual, by David Melding at the start of this debate, and he made some very important points. I think we all know that we've got a problem when it comes to housing in Wales. Let's face it, as Leanne Wood just said, we've had that problem for a considerable length of time, so there aren't going to be any quick fixes when it comes to the provision of homes. Quite simply, whichever way you look at it, we haven't got enough homes to meet demand. Or probably, to be more accurate, we haven't got enough of the right type of homes to meet demand at appropriate points in people's lives, because those demands do change through people's lives. At the very least, we don't have enough homes that are adaptable. Last year, I was very pleased to be asked to open a small new housing development in my home village of Raglan, a development by Monmouthshire Housing Association of around five or six houses - highly sought-after homes. I was struck by both the quality of the construction, but also the adaptability of the homes so that people, whether they were in their early 20s, whether they were single, whether they were having children or whether they were older, in their 60s, 70s or 80s, would be able to stay in those homes throughout their lives and wouldn't move if they didn't want to. I thought that was a great concept and one that needs to be developed. Of course, housing associations are doing their best to meet demand, due in no small part to the cost of buying your own home nowadays. As David Melding said, house prices are now roughly around six times average earnings - in some cases more - due to the shortage that we face. So, we do need to build more, but not just more. We need to address the fact that there are also - let's not forget - an estimated 27,000 empty homes in Wales as I stand here talking about these statistics. Let's do what we can to bring those into use, because that must be an efficient way to proceed. I think if we satisfy the public that spare capacity - what spare capacity there is - is being used, then there will be fewer objections to developments. And let's face it, there are, I'm sure, in all our constituencies, some developments that are more controversial than others. Those developments will be more acceptable if people feel that spare housing stock is being brought into use. This doesn't mean, though, that planning should - pardon the pun - go out of the window. And I don't believe we should be building at any cost - far from it. We need a streamlined, robust planning process that has the confidence of the public and delivers in a way that is acceptable to local authorities but also acceptable to the public. Let's strive to have the best planning process, the most streamlined planning process, we possibly can here in Wales. I thought Leanne Wood made an excellent point, when you said, Leanne, that we need to build sustainable communities, not just sustainable houses. I think too often we talk about those things as though they're detached. We have debates on communities in this Chamber, and today we're having a debate on housing, and sometimes we seem to act as though they're totally separate and they shouldn't be. At the end of the day, housing developments that are built should be well served. They should have sustainability at their heart. They should be compliant with the future generations legislation. That's another piece of legislation we often talk about in this Chamber, but then we go on to talk about other topics without realising that that legislation should be at the heart of building. So, if we're going to build a development in a village in a rural area, of course it's going to be controversial if it's not well supported by sustainable transport, if we're allowing those houses to be built and then expecting people to rely on the motor car, sometimes two or three in a family, or to rely on taxis or to rely on whatever means it means. I'm not saying there has to be a rail link to every village, but there has to be an appreciation that new homes do need sustainable infrastructure, sustainable local services, sustainable schools. How often are developments constructed without proper thought for local schools and services like that? So, there is a lot to be done, but I think that at the heart of this must be: yes, we need more houses, but we also need more quality houses. And I'll finish, Presiding Officer, by just talking about Electrical Safety First, a charity I met very recently with over the Christmas period. They stressed the need to make sure that modern houses are built to a high standard that avoids the high presence of electrical fires, and they gave me one statistic, which I will finish with, which is that over-80-year-olds are four times more likely to die in an electrical fire than anyone else. We don't currently have mandatory electrical safety checks in our housing stock in Wales. Perhaps we should. There are loads of areas where we could actually move things on, particularly, as I said, with the planning process.
Welsh: Rwy'n falch o gyfrannu at y ddadl heddiw ac o gefnogi'r cynnig hwn - cynnig a wnaed yn huawdl iawn, fel arfer, gan David Melding ar ddechrau'r ddadl hon, ac fe wnaeth bwyntiau pwysig iawn. Credaf ein bod i gyd yn gwybod fod gennym broblem mewn perthynas â thai yng Nghymru. Gadewch inni wynebu'r ffaith, fel y mae Leanne Wood newydd ei ddweud, mae'r broblem honno wedi bod gyda ni ers cryn dipyn o amser, felly nid ydym yn mynd i weld unrhyw atebion cyflym o ran darparu cartrefi. Yn syml iawn, pa ffordd bynnag yr edrychwch ar y mater, nid oes gennym ddigon o gartrefi i ateb y galw. Neu, i fod yn fwy cywir mae'n debyg, nid oes gennym ddigon o'r math cywir o dai i ateb y galw ar adegau priodol ym mywydau pobl, gan fod y galwadau hynny'n newid drwy gydol bywydau pobl. Fan lleiaf, nid oes gennym ddigon o gartrefi y gellir eu haddasu. Y llynedd, roeddwn yn falch iawn o gael gwahoddiad i agor datblygiad tai newydd bach yn y pentref lle rwy'n byw, sef Rhaglan, datblygiad gan Gymdeithas Tai Sir Fynwy o oddeutu pump neu chwech o dai - cartrefi poblogaidd iawn. Fe'm trawyd gan ansawdd y gwaith adeiladu, a hefyd gan ba mor addasadwy oedd y cartrefi fel bod pobl, boed yn eu 20au cynnar, yn sengl, yn cael plant neu'n hŷn, yn eu 60au, eu 70au neu eu 80au, yn gallu aros yn y cartrefi hynny drwy gydol eu bywydau ac na fyddent yn symud os nad oeddent eisiau gwneud hynny. Roeddwn yn credu bod hwnnw'n gysyniad gwych ac yn un y mae angen ei ddatblygu. Wrth gwrs, mae cymdeithasau tai yn gwneud eu gorau i ateb y galw, yn sgil y gost, yn anad dim, o brynu eich cartref eich hun y dyddiau hyn. Fel y dywedodd David Melding, mae prisiau tai bellach o gwmpas chwe gwaith y cyflog cyfartalog - mwy mewn rhai achosion - o ganlyniad i'r prinder a wynebwn. Felly, mae angen inni adeiladu rhagor, ond nid rhagor yn unig. Mae angen inni roi sylw i'r ffaith hefyd - gadewch inni beidio ag anghofio - fod 27,000 amcangyfrifedig o gartrefi gwag yng Nghymru wrth imi sefyll yma'n siarad am yr ystadegau hyn. Gadewch inni wneud yr hyn a allwn i ddefnyddio'r rheini unwaith eto, oherwydd rhaid bod honno'n ffordd effeithlon o symud ymlaen. Os gallwn fodloni'r cyhoedd fod y capasiti dros ben - cymaint o gapasiti dros ben ag sy'n bodoli - yn cael ei ddefnyddio, yna bydd llai o wrthwynebiadau i ddatblygiadau. A gadewch i ni wynebu'r ffaith bod yna rai datblygiadau, oes, rwy'n siŵr, yn ein hetholaethau, sy'n fwy dadleuol nag eraill. Bydd y datblygiadau hynny'n fwy derbyniol os yw pobl yn teimlo bod y stoc dai dros ben yn cael ei defnyddio. Nid yw hyn yn golygu, er hynny, y dylid troi cefn ar gynllunio. Ac nid wyf yn credu y dylem fod yn adeiladu ar unrhyw gost - dim o gwbl. Mae angen proses gynllunio sy'n llyfn a chadarn ac sy'n ennyn hyder y cyhoedd ac yn cyflawni mewn ffordd sy'n dderbyniol i awdurdodau lleol ond hefyd yn dderbyniol i'r cyhoedd. Gadewch i ni ymdrechu i gael y broses gynllunio orau, y broses gynllunio fwyaf llyfn y gallwn ei chael yma yng Nghymru. Roeddwn yn meddwl bod Leanne Wood wedi gwneud pwynt ardderchog, pan ddywedasoch, Leanne, fod angen inni adeiladu cymunedau cynaliadwy, nid tai cynaliadwy yn unig. Credaf ein bod yn rhy aml yn sôn am y pethau hynny fel pe baent yn annibynnol ar ei gilydd. Rydym yn cael dadleuon am gymunedau yn y Siambr hon, a heddiw rydym yn cael dadl ar dai, ac weithiau mae'n ymddangos fel pe baem yn gweithredu fel pe baent yn gwbl annibynnol ar ei gilydd ac ni ddylent fod. Yn y pen draw, dylai datblygiadau tai a adeiladir gael eu gwasanaethu'n dda. Dylai fod cynaliadwyedd yn ganolog iddynt. Dylent gydymffurfio â deddfwriaeth cenedlaethau'r dyfodol. Dyna ddeddfwriaeth arall y soniwn amdani'n aml yn y Siambr hon, ond awn ati wedyn i siarad am bynciau eraill heb sylweddoli y dylai'r ddeddfwriaeth honno fod yn ganolog i adeiladu. Felly, os ydym yn mynd i adeiladu datblygiad mewn pentref neu ardal yng nghefn gwlad, wrth gwrs y bydd yn ddadleuol os nad yw'n cael ei gynnal yn dda gan drafnidiaeth gynaliadwy, os ydym yn caniatáu i'r tai hynny gael eu hadeiladu a disgwyl i bobl ddibynnu ar y car, dau neu dri mewn teulu weithiau, neu i ddibynnu ar dacsis neu i ddibynnu ar beth bynnag y mae'n ei olygu. Nid wyf yn dweud bod yn rhaid cael cyswllt rheilffordd i bob pentref, ond rhaid cydnabod bod cartrefi newydd angen seilwaith cynaliadwy, gwasanaethau lleol cynaliadwy, ysgolion cynaliadwy. Pa mor aml y caiff datblygiadau eu hadeiladu heb ystyriaeth briodol i ysgolion lleol a gwasanaethau o'r fath? Felly, mae llawer i'w wneud, ond wrth wraidd hyn, rwy'n credu bod rhaid dweud: oes, mae angen mwy o dai, ond mae angen mwy o dai o safon hefyd. Ac fe orffennaf, Lywydd, drwy sôn am Electrical Safety First, elusen y cyfarfûm â hi yn ddiweddar dros gyfnod y Nadolig. Roeddent yn pwysleisio'r angen i wneud yn siŵr fod tai modern yn cael eu hadeiladu i safon uchel sy'n osgoi lefelau uchel o danau trydan, a rhoddasant un ystadegyn i mi, ac rwyf am orffen gyda hyn, sef bod pobl dros 80 oed bedair gwaith yn fwy tebygol o farw mewn tân trydan na neb arall. Ar hyn o bryd nid oes gennym archwiliadau diogelwch trydanol gorfodol yn ein stoc dai yng Nghymru. Efallai y dylem eu cael. Ceir digonedd o feysydd lle y gallem symud pethau yn eu blaenau mewn gwirionedd, yn enwedig, fel y dywedais, gyda'r broses gynllunio.