Presiding Officer welcomes visitors to Senedd on Saint David’s Day
The National Assembly’s Presiding Officer will today tell visitors to the Senedd on St David’s Day that he wants to see the Assembly become a law-making body worthy of its iconic home.
The Senedd was officially opened on March 1 2006 by the Queen and this year a number of activities are being held in the building to mark St David’s Day. The Senedd is open from 10.30am until 5.00pm and there will be plenty of activities to keep the whole family occupied, from colouring in and face painting to cookery demonstrations, Welsh learning taster sessions and folk dancing workshops. Entertainment will also be provided by Côr CF1, Fitzalan School Steel Band, Cardiff Folk Dance Company Cher Punjab, a Sikh drumming band, Bagad Penhars, a Breton piping band, and a Welsh haka performed by schoolchildren.
The National St David’s Day Parade will also end at the Senedd for the first time. The Presiding Officer will greet the parade on the steps of the Senedd. He will also read out a St David’s message from the Bishop of St David’s.
He will say: “I am pleased to welcome so many people to celebrate St David’s Day at the Senedd. The Senedd is also celebrating a milestone. When the building was opened by Her Majesty two years ago I hoped it would become a cultural as well as a political landmark in the Bay so it is very fitting that we have so much going on in the building to mark St David’s Day. The various groups who are entertaining us today are a true reflection of the different cultural and ethnic traditions in our capital city. I would like to thank Bagad Penhars, who have travelled from Brittany to take part today, and earthfall for organising a Welsh haka which I am very much looking forward to seeing.
“It is a particular pleasure to welcome the St David’s Day parade to the home of the National Assembly for the first time. The parade has been going from strength to strength since it first started and I am delighted that it is finishing at the Senedd this year. I’d also like to thank Cardiff Council for working with the Assembly in organising this event.
“Since this wonderful iconic building first opened I have hoped that we would be able to create a parliamentary institution worthy of such a splendid home. We now have powers to create our own Welsh laws for the first time, and both the Welsh Government and backbench Assembly Members have shown a willingness to use these new powers. However, if we are to move towards the next stage of devolution, we must get better at making the system work. We must create laws which reflect the needs of the people of Wales and we must get much better at telling Welsh citizens what we do and engaging them in the process.
“Making the Senedd part of the celebrations on our national day is an important part of this. I am delighted to welcome you all the Senedd. I hope you all have an enjoyable and entertaining visit, but please will you also take the time to tell us what you think of about the building, about the Assembly and about how we can best use our powers to serve Wales.”