English: Well, you have just said it. We have to tackle overcrowding, and, unfortunately, this means building more prisons. Wales currently has five prisons, yet a large number of Welsh prisoners are housed in prisons in England. Some opponents of the prison claim that Wales is becoming the new Botany Bay, becoming a dumping ground for English prisoners. This is rubbish. There are nearly 2,000 Welsh prisoners held in English jails, yet 700 English prisoners are held in Welsh prisons. We have no women's prison in Wales and not a single category A prison. There is a clear need for a new prison. Wales has 4,747 prisoners, yet the five prisons in Wales have an operational capacity for 3,700 prisoners. We have to build a prison but we have to ensure it is in the right location. I believe my region will benefit from the new prison. Neath Port Talbot recently topped the chart for having the worst social mobility in Wales, and one of the worst in the UK for poverty. The local community desperately needs inward investment, and the prison will bring much-needed employment opportunities. I resent the fact that these employment opportunities are being trivialised and called 'non-jobs' effectively, not just in the construction phase, but also during it's operation, and despite this some politicians have been mobilising opposition to the plans and playing on people's fears. The argument based on community safety just doesn't stack up. The prison will be a low-category prison, not housing dangerous, hardened criminals and murderers; it will house category C prisoners. In contrast, we have prisons in the city centres, in Swansea and Cardiff, that house higher category B prisoners, and there have been no public safety incidents at either of these prisons, and nor have there been any at HMP Parc, on the outskirts of Bridgend. HMP Parc, Swansea and Cardiff have also not been a drain on local resources. And on the petitioner's claim that over 8,000 signatures show the majority of the town are against the prison, Port Talbot is home to over 37,000 people. If every one of these signatures were from that town, that would be less than a quarter of the population, and these signatures are not all from that town, are they? If the majority of residents were opposed to this prison, and I couldn't convince them of the benefits it could bring, then, as their representative, I would oppose the prison being built in Port Talbot, but as it stands, the majority of people have not shared their views, and I therefore believe that this should be decided by the planning department, and as we are in the early stages of this proposal and process, I cannot support the petitioners at this time.
Welsh: Wel, rydych newydd ei ddweud. Rhaid i ni fynd i'r afael â gorlenwi, ac yn anffodus, mae hynny'n golygu adeiladu rhagor o garchardai. Ar hyn o bryd, mae gan Gymru bum carchar, ac eto caiff nifer fawr o garcharorion o Gymru eu cadw mewn carchardai yn Lloegr. Mae rhai o wrthwynebwyr y carchar yn honni bod Cymru yn dod yn y Fae Botany newydd, yn dod yn domen sbwriel ar gyfer carcharorion o Loegr. Nonsens yw hyn. Mae bron i 2,000 o garcharorion o Gymru'n cael eu cadw mewn carchardai yn Lloegr, ac eto caiff 700 o garcharorion o Loegr eu cadw yng ngharchardai Cymru. Nid oes gennym garchar i fenywod yng Nghymru nac unrhyw garchar categori A. Mae'n amlwg fod angen carchar newydd. Mae gan Gymru 4,747 o garcharorion, ac eto nid oes gan y pum carchar yng Nghymru gapasiti gweithredol i ddal mwy na 3,700 o garcharorion. Rhaid i ni adeiladu carchar, ond mae'n rhaid i ni sicrhau ei fod yn y lleoliad cywir. Rwy'n credu y bydd fy rhanbarth yn elwa o'r carchar newydd. Yn ddiweddar, daeth Castell-nedd Port Talbot ar frig y rhestr o ardaloedd gyda'r symudedd cymdeithasol gwaethaf yng Nghymru, ac un o'r gwaethaf yn y DU mewn perthynas â thlodi. Mae taer angen mewnfuddsoddwyr ar y gymuned leol, a bydd y carchar yn creu cyfleoedd cyflogaeth mawr eu hangen. Rwy'n gwrthwynebu'r ffaith bod y cyfleoedd cyflogaeth hyn yn cael eu bychanu a'u cyhuddo o beidio â bod yn swyddi i bob pwrpas, nid yn unig yn y cyfnod adeiladu, ond hefyd yn ystod ei weithrediad, ac er gwaethaf hyn, mae rhai gwleidyddion wedi bod yn ysgogi gwrthwynebiad i'r cynlluniau ac yn chwarae ar ofnau pobl. Nid yw'r ddadl ynghylch diogelwch cymunedol yn dal dŵr. Bydd y carchar yn un categori isel, nad yw'n dal troseddwyr difrifol a pheryglus, a llofruddwyr; bydd yn dal carcharorion categori C. Mewn cyferbyniad, mae gennym garchardai ynghanol dinasoedd yn Abertawe a Chaerdydd sy'n dal carcharorion categori B, categori uwch, ac ni fu unrhyw ddigwyddiadau diogelwch y cyhoedd yn yr un o'r carchardai hyn, nac yng ngharchar Parc, ar gyrion Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr. Nid yw carchardai Parc, Abertawe na Chaerdydd wedi bod yn dreth ar adnoddau lleol ychwaith. Ac ynglŷn â honiad y deisebydd fod dros 8,000 o lofnodion yn dangos bod y rhan fwyaf o'r dref yn erbyn y carchar, mae Port Talbot yn gartref i dros 37,000 o bobl. Os oedd pob un o'r llofnodion hyn o'r dref honno, byddai'n llai na chwarter y boblogaeth, a does bosibl fod y llofnodion hyn i gyd o'r dref honno. Pe bai mwyafrif y trigolion yn gwrthwynebu'r carchar hwn, a phe na bawn yn gallu eu hargyhoeddi ynglŷn â'r manteision y gallai eu sicrhau, yna, fel eu cynrychiolydd, buaswn yn gwrthwynebu adeiladu'r carchar ym Mhort Talbot, ond fel y mae hi, nid yw'r rhan fwyaf o bobl wedi rhannu eu barn, ac rwy'n credu felly y dylai'r adran gynllunio benderfynu ynglŷn â hyn, a chan ein bod ar gam cynnar o'r cynnig a'r broses, ni allaf gefnogi'r deisebwyr ar hyn o bryd.