English: I congratulate the Conservative group on choosing this topic for debate today and I commend Mark Isherwood on the excellent way in which he introduced it. Andrew Davies has already referred to the great privilege that we party leaders had, along with the Presiding Officer, in being able to attend the commemoration of the centenary of the battle of Mametz Wood last week. I've been attending remembrance day celebrations of various kinds for many, many years and I always find them tremendously affecting, but I've never actually been to one of the first world war battlefield sites before, and it is unimaginable on a sunny day, with the corn waving in the fields, to imagine, 100 years ago, the carnage, the noise and the scenes of death and destruction that occurred then. One of the most affecting things that I brought back from the battlefield were the stories of some of the Welsh soldiers who died on that day. In particular, Corporal Frederick Hugh Roberts, who had cheated death in the Senghenydd pit disaster on 17 October in 1913, because he'd had a successful bet on a horse, which led to a night of heavy drinking and he had a hangover, which kept him away from the pit that killed 439 of his workmates. Sadly, he perished in a hail of bullets on 10 July 1916. And, a pair of brothers Arthur and Leonard Tregaskis who had both emigrated to Canada together and returned to join up as volunteers to fight in the war; both of them died on the same day - 7 July 1916. One can't imagine, really, how, seeing what happened on that day, soldiers could carry on pushing forward through the barbed wire into no-man's-land knowing, I presume, the almost certainty of being cut down. So, it is right that we should remember them and always remember them. One of the things that I've appreciated most in the course of a long time in politics is how we pay actually more regard to those who perished in the first world war and the second world war than perhaps we did in the days of my youth, and I'm pleased that younger people also attend these celebrations in such numbers today. Like everybody else, I'm rather surprised that the Government has put down the amendment to this motion. I'm sure that none of them, actually, disagrees with the principle of what is being proposed here and I'm surprised that they don't feel able to agree that we must provide the extra support that the motion calls for, but should only further consider it. I won't add to the arguments that Andrew Davies has advanced, except to say that I agree with what he said absolutely. There are so many ways in which we can improve the provision of social services, housing, et cetera, for our veterans. People who are in the armed forces, generally speaking, aren't really paid very much for what they do and they often have to put up with enormous stresses and strains in life. The incidents of marital break-ups are very great and that produces huge problems for both parties in civilian life, and there are all sorts of mental problems and pressures that they have to cope with as well. In the first world war, of course, many, many soldiers were shot for cowardice when, in fact, they were suffering from stress and other conditions which, then, were unrecognised. I think it behoves us all - it certainly behoves Government - to give the maximum possible support to our servicemen and women and veterans as they make the transition to private and civilian life. We haven't time to go into the details too much, but I'm very much in favour of a standardised question for public bodies to ask to prove identification of members of the armed forces in the provision of their services. I don't, I'm afraid, accept the excuse given by the Cabinet Secretary for this not to be done, because we know so many cases in our constituency work where people would benefit if they were known to have been - [Interruption.] I'm afraid that Alun Davies, of course, yet again, disgraces himself and perhaps this Chamber, by treating with some levity a very serious matter, and he would do better, perhaps, to listen rather than gibber away in this place, as he so often does. [Interruption.]
Welsh: Hoffwn longyfarch y grŵp Ceidwadol ar ddewis y pwnc hwn ar gyfer y ddadl heddiw a chymeradwyaf Mark Isherwood ar y ffordd ragorol y'i cyflwynodd. Mae Andrew Davies eisoes wedi cyfeirio at y fraint fawr a gawsom fel arweinwyr y pleidiau, ynghyd â'r Llywydd, o allu mynychu'r digwyddiad i goffáu canmlwyddiant brwydr Coed Mametz yr wythnos diwethaf. Bûm yn mynychu dathliadau diwrnodau coffa o wahanol fathau ers llawer iawn o flynyddoedd ac rwyf bob amser yn eu cael yn deimladwy tu hwnt, ond nid wyf erioed wedi bod ar un o feysydd y gad y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf o'r blaen mewn gwirionedd, ac mae'n amhosibl ar ddiwrnod heulog, gyda'r ŷd yn chwifio yn y caeau, dychmygu, 100 mlynedd yn ôl, y lladdfa, y sŵn a'r marwolaethau a'r dinistr a ddigwyddodd bryd hynny. Un o'r pethau mwyaf teimladwy a gariais yn ôl o faes y gad yw hanesion rhai o'r milwyr Cymreig a fu farw ar y diwrnod hwnnw. Yn benodol, y Corporal Frederick Hugh Roberts, a oedd wedi osgoi marwolaeth yn nhrychineb pwll Senghennydd ar 17 Hydref yn 1913 am ei fod wedi betio'n llwyddiannus ar geffyl gan arwain at noson o yfed trwm a phen mawr yn y bore a'i cadwodd i ffwrdd o'r pwll ar y diwrnod y lladdwyd 439 o'i gydweithwyr. Yn anffodus, fe farw mewn cawod o fwledi ar 10 Gorffennaf 1916. A dau frawd, Arthur a Leonard Tregaskis, a oedd wedi ymfudo i Ganada gyda'i gilydd ac a ddychwelodd i ymuno fel gwirfoddolwyr i ymladd yn y rhyfel; bu farw'r ddau ar yr un diwrnod - 7 Gorffennaf, 1916. Ni all rhywun ddychmygu, mewn gwirionedd, o ystyried beth a ddigwyddodd ar y diwrnod hwnnw, sut y gallai milwyr barhau i wthio ymlaen drwy'r weiren bigog i dir neb gan wybod, rwy'n tybio, ei bod hi'n gwbl sicr y buasent yn syrthio. Felly, mae'n iawn i ni eu cofio a'u cofio bob amser. Un o'r pethau rwyf wedi eu gwerthfawrogi fwyaf dros amser hir yn y byd gwleidyddol yw sut rydym yn rhoi mwy o barch mewn gwirionedd i'r rhai a fu farw yn y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf a'r Ail Ryfel Byd nag a wnaethom yn nyddiau fy ieuenctid o bosibl, ac rwy'n falch fod cymaint o bobl iau hefyd yn mynychu'r dathliadau hyn heddiw. Fel pawb arall, rwy'n synnu braidd fod y Llywodraeth wedi cyflwyno gwelliant i'r cynnig hwn. Rwy'n siŵr nad oes yr un ohonynt, mewn gwirionedd, yn anghytuno ag egwyddor yr hyn sy'n cael ei gynnig yma ac rwy'n synnu nad ydynt yn teimlo eu bod yn gallu cytuno bod yn rhaid i ni roi'r cymorth ychwanegol y mae'r cynnig yn galw amdano, ac mai ei ystyried ymhellach yn unig y dylid ei wneud. Nid wyf am ychwanegu at y dadleuon a roddodd Andrew Davies, heblaw dweud fy mod yn cytuno â'r hyn a ddywedodd yn llwyr. Mae cymaint o ffyrdd y gallwn wella'r ddarpariaeth o wasanaethau cymdeithasol, tai, ac ati i'n cyn-filwyr. Nid yw pobl yn y lluoedd arfog, yn gyffredinol, yn cael eu talu lawer iawn mewn gwirionedd am yr hyn y maent yn ei wneud ac yn aml rhaid iddynt ddioddef pwysau a straen enfawr mewn bywyd. Mae nifer yr achosion o dor-priodas yn fawr iawn ac mae hynny'n creu problemau enfawr i'r ddwy ochr mewn bywyd ar ôl gadael y lluoedd arfog, ac mae pob math o broblemau meddyliol a phwysau sy'n rhaid iddynt ymdopi â hwy hefyd. Yn y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf, wrth gwrs, cafodd llawer iawn o filwyr eu saethu am lwfrdra pan oeddent, mewn gwirionedd, yn dioddef o straen a chyflyrau eraill nad oeddent yn cael eu cydnabod yn y dyddiau hynny. Rwy'n credu ei bod yn ddyletswydd arnom i gyd - mae'n sicr yn ddyletswydd ar Lywodraeth - i roi cymaint o gymorth â phosibl i'n lluoedd arfog a'n cyn-filwyr wrth iddynt drosglwyddo i fywyd preifat ar ôl gadael y lluoedd arfog. Nid oes gennym amser i fanylu gormod, ond rwy'n gefnogol iawn i gynnwys cwestiwn safonol i gyrff cyhoeddus ei ofyn yn brawf adnabod ar gyfer aelodau o'r lluoedd arfog wrth iddynt ddarparu eu gwasanaethau. Yn anffodus, ofnaf nad wyf yn derbyn yr esgus a roddodd Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros beidio â gwneud hyn, oherwydd gwyddom am gymaint o achosion yn ein gwaith etholaeth lle byddai pobl yn elwa pe gwyddys eu bod wedi - [Torri ar draws.] Rwy'n ofni bod Alun Davies unwaith eto, wrth gwrs, wedi dwyn gwarth arno'i hun a'r Siambr hon efallai, drwy drin mater difrifol iawn gydag ysgafnder, a byddai'n rheitiach iddo wrando, efallai, yn hytrach na baldorddi yn y lle hwn, fel y mae yn ei wneud mor aml. [Torri ar draws.]