English: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you very much to Jack for bringing forward the debate and giving me the opportunity to speak about water safety and drowning prevention. Dirprwy Lywydd, I'd just like to start, as you'd expect me to, by offering my deepest sympathies to Mark Allen's family and to anyone else in Wales who has been affected by drowning incidents, because they are, as Vikki Howells said, absolutely devastating, and they devastate not only the families but the communities around those families as well. We really need to be very aware of that. I also want to thank the campaigners who have contributed their time and provided valuable comments to inform the report and for their continued awareness raising, which I think is particularly brave in the circumstances of the tragedy of losing a son, a friend, and a member of your community. I also want to thank all the members of the Petitions Committee for the production of the 'Mark Allen's Law: Water safety and drowning prevention' report because it's a very good report indeed and I'm very pleased to be able to accept the recommendations therein. As the report highlights, there are still too many water-related instances occurring in Wales. The recommendations in the report will enhance Wales's drowning prevention strategy, which was published in December 2020 by Water Safety Wales. I just want to talk a little bit about that, because various contributions today are absolutely right: we do need to pull the various sectors together here, because this is about water safety, of course, but it is also about encouraging people to use our great outdoors in the right way and in the right circumstances. It's a well-known fact that I'm a very, very keen cold-water wild-water swimmer, and I'm very, very happy to extol the virtues of that kind of swimming. I only wish I'd had the chance to do it while I've had this cold, because I feel sure it would have helped me throw it off, which might seem counterintuitive to people, but actually there are real benefits that it brings to you if you can get into the water. I just extol it. I'm not quite as enthusiastic as the dawn people in Penarth, who go out to greet each day with a dip in the sea, but I'm very fond, nevertheless, of those kinds of activities. But all the more the reason to make sure that the tragedy that brought about the report today doesn't happen, and there are a number of things that we can do there. We can do the things that the report sets out in terms of education and awareness, we can do the things about the signage, we can do the things about throw lines, but we can't do those everywhere. As Huw has said, there will be areas in Wales that are just not suitable for that. So, what we also need to do is raise awareness of where it is safe to go wild swimming, and why it can be a real problem, particularly on a hot day, to dive into cold water. And again, counterintuitively, it's worse on a hot day to do it than it is on a cold day, because of the extreme change in body temperature. And also, it isn't about being able to swim. Of course I would absolutely love for everyone in Wales to be able to swim, just for the sheer joy of it, but also for, obviously, the life-saving possibilities. We're a coastal nation, a nation very fond of its water, so of course our people should be able to take the full opportunities that offers. But many of the people who, unfortunately, do drown in water swim very well. That's not the issue. The issue is that they are either caught in an extreme temperature differential that shocks the body, or they're caught in a current, or they're caught in other circumstances, incidents with other craft on the water, and so on. That happens. These are the incidents that we need to have a really good look at. We must do this in a way that encourages the right kind of wild or outdoor swimming in the right place. So, I would say, for example, that wild swimming for me is very much a community activity. I wouldn't dream of going on my own to do that. I know some people do, but I would discourage that. Getting together with a group of like-minded people, who know the water that they're in and who are prepared to help if you get into difficulties, is a really big part of this. It's part of the community and part of the joy of it, but it's also part of the safety of it. If you're with somebody else, then that person can get help to you as fast as possible. So, I would very much encourage doing it as a community activity. We do need to have that awareness and we do need to make sure that people understand that the signs are not there just to randomly spoil your fun - they're there for good reason to explain to you what the water conditions are, what the things you can't see under the water might look like, and what the current situation actually is. I would also encourage people, where there are lifeguards, to make sure that they do what the lifeguards ask them to do. We do see quite often people just ignoring the signs and so on, not really understanding the strength and power that water can have when not treated with respect. So, we do need to increase awareness of water safety throughout Wales, and we do need to help people get better informed and to be able to judge the dangers of their surroundings for themselves in the right way. I'm really happy, Jack, to have accepted the recommendations. I'm happy to have taken responsibility in my portfolio for doing this. It suits my attitude towards it as well. I think you're right: it does need somebody to take a look at it right across the breadth of things that we do. So, I'm very happy to have agreed, and we only agree in principle because we're already doing something in that space that's very similar. So, it's not that we don't agree. We agree with all of them. I'm really happy to work with outdoor activities and particularly with AdventureSmart Wales in order to get the expertise from right across the sector. My officials are already actioning the recommendations and liaising with Water Safety Wales on next steps, and I look forward to taking this forward together. And again, my sympathies to the family. Diolch.
Welsh: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd, a diolch yn fawr iawn i Jack am gyflwyno'r ddadl a rhoi'r cyfle imi siarad am ddiogelwch dŵr ac atal boddi. Ddirprwy Lywydd, hoffwn ddechrau, fel y byddech yn disgwyl, drwy gydymdeimlo â theulu Mark Allen ac unrhyw un arall yng Nghymru sydd wedi cael eu heffeithio gan achosion o foddi, gan eu bod, fel y dywedodd Vikki Howells, yn gwbl ddinistriol, ac maent yn dinistrio nid yn unig y teuluoedd ond y cymunedau o amgylch y teuluoedd hynny hefyd. Mae gwir angen inni fod yn ymwybodol iawn o hynny. Hoffwn ddiolch hefyd i'r ymgyrchwyr sydd wedi cyfrannu eu hamser ac sydd wedi darparu sylwadau gwerthfawr i lywio'r adroddiad ac am eu gwaith parhaus i godi ymwybyddiaeth, sy'n arbennig o ddewr yn sgil y drasiedi o golli mab, ffrind, ac aelod o'ch cymuned. Hoffwn ddiolch hefyd i holl aelodau'r Pwyllgor Deisebau am gynhyrchu adroddiad 'Cyfraith Mark Allen: Diogelwch dŵr ac atal boddi' gan ei fod yn adroddiad da iawn wir, ac rwy'n falch iawn o allu derbyn yr argymhellion ynddo. Fel y mae'r adroddiad yn nodi, mae gormod o achosion sy'n gysylltiedig â dŵr yn digwydd yng Nghymru o hyd. Bydd yr argymhellion yn yr adroddiad yn gwella strategaeth atal boddi Cymru, a gyhoeddwyd ym mis Rhagfyr 2020 gan Diogelwch Dŵr Cymru. Rwyf am siarad ychydig am hynny, gan fod cyfraniadau amrywiol heddiw yn llygad eu lle: mae angen inni dynnu'r gwahanol sectorau ynghyd yma, gan fod hyn yn ymwneud â diogelwch dŵr, wrth gwrs, ond mae hefyd yn ymwneud ag annog pobl i ddefnyddio ein gwasanaethau awyr agored gwych yn y ffordd gywir ac o dan yr amgylchiadau cywir. Mae'n ffaith dra hysbys fy mod yn hoff iawn o nofio gwyllt mewn dŵr oer, ac rwy'n fwy na pharod i ganu clodydd y math hwnnw o nofio. Hoffwn pe bawn wedi cael cyfle i wneud hynny tra bod yr annwyd hwn arnaf, gan fy mod yn siŵr y byddai wedi fy helpu i'w osgoi, sydd efallai'n swnio'n rhyfedd i bobl, ond mewn gwirionedd, os gallwch fynd i mewn i'r dŵr, gall hynny ddarparu buddion gwirioneddol. Rwy'n ei ganmol. Nid wyf mor frwdfrydig â'r bobl ym Mhenarth sy'n mynd i'r môr gyda'r wawr bob dydd, ond rwy'n hoff iawn, serch hynny, o'r mathau hynny o weithgareddau. Ond mae hynny'n fwy o reswm fyth dros sicrhau nad yw'r drasiedi a arweiniodd at yr adroddiad heddiw yn digwydd eto, ac mae nifer o bethau y gallwn eu gwneud yn y cyswllt hwnnw. Gallwn wneud y pethau y mae'r adroddiad yn eu nodi o ran addysg ac ymwybyddiaeth, gallwn wneud y pethau am yr arwyddion, gallwn wneud y pethau ynghylch cortynnau taflu, ond ni allwn wneud y pethau hynny ym mhobman. Fel y dywedodd Huw, bydd yna ardaloedd yng Nghymru lle nad yw hynny'n addas. Felly, yr hyn y mae angen inni ei wneud hefyd yw codi ymwybyddiaeth o ble mae'n ddiogel mynd i nofio gwyllt, a pham y gall plymio i ddŵr oer, yn enwedig ar ddiwrnod poeth, fod yn broblem wirioneddol. Ac unwaith eto, yn groes i'r hyn y byddai pobl yn ei feddwl, mae'n waeth gwneud hynny ar ddiwrnod poeth nag ar ddiwrnod oer, oherwydd y newid eithafol yn nhymheredd y corff. A hefyd, nid yw'n ymwneud â gallu nofio. Wrth gwrs, byddwn wrth fy modd pe bai pawb yng Nghymru yn gallu nofio, er mwyn y llawenydd pur o allu gwneud, ond hefyd, yn amlwg, oherwydd y posibilrwydd o achub bywydau. Rydym yn genedl arfordirol, yn genedl sy'n hoff iawn o'i dŵr, felly wrth gwrs, dylai ein pobl allu manteisio'n llawn ar y cyfleoedd a gynigir. Ond yn anffodus, mae llawer o'r bobl sy'n boddi mewn dŵr yn gallu nofio'n dda iawn. Nid dyna'r broblem. Y broblem yw eu bod naill ai'n cael eu dal gan wahaniaeth eithafol yn y tymheredd sy'n sioc i'r corff, neu'n cael eu dal mewn cerrynt, neu'n cael eu dal mewn amgylchiadau eraill, digwyddiadau gyda badau eraill ar y dŵr ac ati. Mae hynny'n digwydd. Dyma'r digwyddiadau y mae angen inni edrych arnynt yn ofalus. Mae'n rhaid inni wneud hyn mewn ffordd sy'n annog y math iawn o nofio gwyllt neu nofio awyr agored yn y lle iawn. Felly, byddwn yn dweud, er enghraifft, fod nofio gwyllt yn weithgaredd cymunedol iawn i mi. Ni fyddwn yn breuddwydio am fynd i wneud hynny ar fy mhen fy hun. Gwn fod rhai pobl yn gwneud hynny, ond ni fyddwn yn annog hynny. Mae dod at ein gilydd gyda grŵp o bobl o'r un anian, sy'n gyfarwydd â'r dŵr y maent ynddo ac sy'n barod i'ch helpu os byddwch yn mynd i drafferthion, yn rhan fawr iawn o hyn. Mae'n rhan o'r gymuned ac yn rhan o'r pleser, ond mae hefyd yn rhan o ddiogelwch y peth. Os ydych gyda rhywun arall, gall yr unigolyn hwnnw sicrhau eich bod yn cael cymorth cyn gynted â phosibl. Felly, byddwn yn sicr yn annog gwneud hyn fel gweithgaredd cymunedol. Mae angen inni gael yr ymwybyddiaeth honno ac mae angen inni sicrhau bod pobl yn deall nad yw'r arwyddion yno er mwyn difetha eich hwyl - maent yno am reswm da i esbonio i chi beth yw amodau'r dŵr, sut mae'r pethau na allwch eu gweld o dan y dŵr yn edrych, a beth yw'r sefyllfa o ran y cerrynt. Byddwn hefyd yn annog pobl, lle mae achubwyr bywydau'n bresennol, i sicrhau eu bod yn gwneud yr hyn y mae'r achubwyr bywydau yn gofyn iddynt ei wneud. Rydym yn gweld pobl yn aml yn anwybyddu'r arwyddion ac yn y blaen, heb ddeall y cryfder a'r pŵer sydd gan ddŵr pan nad yw'n cael ei drin â pharch. Felly, mae angen inni gynyddu ymwybyddiaeth o ddiogelwch dŵr ledled Cymru, ac mae angen inni helpu pobl i gael mwy o wybodaeth a gallu barnu peryglon eu hamgylchedd drostynt eu hunain yn y ffordd gywir. Rwy'n falch iawn o fod wedi derbyn yr argymhellion, Jack. Rwy'n falch fy mod wedi cymryd cyfrifoldeb yn fy mhortffolio am wneud hyn. Mae'n gweddu i fy agwedd at y mater hefyd. Credaf eich bod yn iawn: mae angen i rywun edrych ar y sefyllfa gyfan mewn perthynas â phopeth a wnawn. Felly, rwy'n falch iawn fy mod wedi cytuno, a'r unig reswm ein bod ond yn cytuno mewn egwyddor yn unig yw am ein bod eisoes yn gwneud rhywbeth tebyg iawn yn y cyswllt hwnnw. Felly, nid ydym yn anghytuno. Rydym yn cytuno â phob un ohonynt. Rwy'n falch iawn o weithio gyda gweithgareddau awyr agored ac yn enwedig gydag AdventureSmart Cymru er mwyn cael yr arbenigedd hwnnw o bob rhan o'r sector. Mae fy swyddogion eisoes yn rhoi'r argymhellion ar waith ac yn cysylltu â Diogelwch Dŵr Cymru ar y camau nesaf, ac edrychaf ymlaen at fwrw ymlaen â hyn gyda'n gilydd. Ac unwaith eto, rwy'n cydymdeimlo â'r teulu. Diolch.