The Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, is most welcome to Seanad Éireann.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important Commencement matter. I thank the Minister of State for coming here to address this. In essence, I have asked for the Minister to make a statement on mink farms in Ireland, now closed, and to confirm the status and compensation agreed with the affected operators and if there are any outstanding matters in relation to same.

The Minister of State will be aware that the Animal Health and Welfare and Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 provided for the statutory prohibition of fur farming along with a compensation scheme. I wish to be clear; I fully supported the legislation. I acted proactively and robustly on behalf of the three owners because I recognised that they had a valid business regardless of my views on animal welfare in relation to mink farming, which I do not support, but I support the fact that they had legitimate legal enterprises within this State. The State took a decision in conjunction with stakeholders, conscious of European directions in relation to this matter and conscious to a whole of range issues. It was decided that the remaining fur farms would close, but at the commencement of that would be a package of compensation for the employees and farm enterprises. That would be the replacement of alternative agri-related uses for these farms.

In January 2023, the then Minister for agriculture, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, signed the legislative order which saw the closure of fur farms in counties Kerry, Donegal and Laois. Over €2 million compensation has already been given to existing farm owners. My concern relates to one in County Laois. There are extenuating circumstances around it. I do not want to get into the naming of it because that is not relevant. What is relevant is that there was an agreement entered into with fur farmers to close them down. They have complied with that, they have humanely destroyed any breeding stocks they had, and I understand there is now no legal fur farming in Ireland. Therefore, the issue is the outstanding issue of the payment. The legislation made provision for the payment of this compensation based on the income loss, non-income, cost for the dereliction and the cost of providing alternative enterprise because we are talking about people's livelihoods. What is the plan? What is the scheme of things? What is the timeframe?

I looked this morning at the Veterinary Ireland policy document on fur farming. It made a strong case. It sets out the European model and the concerns about animal welfare. It made absolute sense. I acknowledge that very significant document from 2018. There is no dispute. Fur farming is banned in Ireland. Most of the compensation has been paid out, but there are a few outstanding issues. I hope we can get some sort of pathway and timeline to resolve those outstanding issues so we can say in the next few weeks and months that, once and for all, the complete package is that fur farming is banned, the farmers and the people involved in this enterprise have been fully compensated, the workers who were involved in this have been compensated or a relevant financial position put in place for them and we can progress. This is about honour and commitment to what we agreed when we signed up and supported this legislation.

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. The programme for Government 2020 contained a commitment regarding the prohibition of fur farming. As a result of this commitment, the Department enacted the Animal Welfare and Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 in December 2022, amending the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. The new Act contained a statutory prohibition on the breeding, rearing or keeping of certain animals solely or primarily for the value of, or the manufacture of products from, their fur or skin.

In June 2021, the then Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, announced compensation for fur farming operators licensed under the Musk Rats Act 1933 following a decision to ban the practice. The Department introduced the legislative framework to compensate the remaining fur farming operators in Ireland who were impacted by the ban. Under the Animal Health and Welfare (Fur Farming Compensation Scheme) Regulations 2022, SI 650 of 2022, fur farming operators could receive compensation for income losses, non-income losses and costs incurred as a direct result of the ban. SI 650 of 2022 also made provision for compensation in respect of loss of profits, demolition and clean-up costs and professional fees for services both before and after the prohibition.

My Department was also aware that workers who were to be made redundant needed to be provided for in the legislation, as the Senator mentioned. Therefore, a further provision was included to ensure a training fund to compensate the redundant workers affected by the closure of fur farming operators.

In accordance with SI 650 of 2022 and in order to avail of the compensation scheme, fur farming operators were required to submit a completed application for compensation to my Department no later than the date of the appointment of the assessor, EY, which was appointed in December 2022 by the then Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, to determine payment amounts following a tendering process. Determinations by the assessor required the applicant to submit a completed application with all of the required supporting documentation. The assessor appointed a quantity surveyor to provide expert advice on certain demolition and repurposing works and a site visit was required for this work to proceed.

Work is ongoing on this matter. The compensation process has been ongoing since December 2022. To date, a total of almost €3.4 million has been paid to fur farming operators under this scheme. I will bring back to the Minister the issues raised by the Senator.

That is a very comprehensive response for which I thank the Minister of State. I am glad he confirmed that the compensation had risen to €3.4 million. He mentioned the role of EY. No one does anything for nothing and everyone has to be paid. The outstanding issue is how the demolition will be dealt with appropriately, along with the repurposing of the site and compensation. I hope to come back here in a few months and put the same Commencement matter down. It is to be hoped that, at that stage, we will have a response that the business has been signed off on and completed, in line with the legislation passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas.

I thank the Minister of State for his engagement on this matter.

My Department and the contracted assessor, EY, have made every effort to expedite applications and pay the determined compensation amounts in accordance with SI 650 of 2022 in a timely manner. SI 650 provides for an application procedure for compensation purposes. The compensation includes payments for income losses, non-income losses and costs incurred as a direct result of the ban. There has been recent developments at EU level regarding fur farming. Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/1422 of July 2025 provides for a ban on the breeding of American mink from August 2027. Ireland is one of 16 member states that has already banned fur farming. My Department keeps animal welfare legislation under review with respect to developments in the area of animal welfare and the practical lessons learned.

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber this morning and thank him for agreeing to take this Commencement matter. It is important to point out that, in last week's budget, the Department of agriculture - the Minister of State's Department - received a 9% increase in its overall budget. Aside from the Department of Defence, which was obviously going to get a massive increase, it is the highest increase of any Department. I acknowledge the obvious good work the Minister of State and his colleagues put into working with the Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and Chambers, in increasing the funding. It will have a massive impact on rural Ireland. The Minister of State knows from Galway, as I do in Tipperary, that the money feeds back into the local community.

There was major funding for TB and an investment of €50 million in tillage. As the Minister of State knows, tillage has had a very difficult couple of years. It is a sector that needs some support. I welcome the announcement last week by the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Heydon, in terms of supporting the tillage sector and recognising that it does not need a one-year investment, but a base level that can be used going forward.

Tillage farmers across the country want to know what they are getting per hectare, but they do not yet know that. There is a good reason they do not know that. I welcome that the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Heydon, want to sit down with farmer organisations and thrash out how we get the scheme right so that farmers who really need money can get it. I ask for that to happen as soon as possible.

Obviously, farmers work in the expectation of an income that is coming through and need those decisions as much as possible. Whether it is €100, €120 or €125 per hectare, if farmers know that as soon as possible, they can budget after Christmas and into the setting season. In fairness, funding last year was provided around February or March. If that could be done again, it would be very welcome.

Last year, the money was given to everyone with no conditions in place because it was the first year of the scheme and, therefore, things could be done quickly. We have an opportunity to set a base for how we support the tillage sector and people who are really struggling. It has been an incredibly tough number of years. As the Minister of State knows, the price for barley this year is €190 but was €320 in 2022. The price for wheat last week was €200 but was €340 in 2022. There has been a decrease of over 40% in the price for farmers. No other business could manage that. This comes on top of a price increase in fertiliser from €300 to €400, or 33%. Rental costs for land over the past number of years have increased from €200 to €250 per acre to €350 to €400 per acre. All of these are added costs. Machinery costs have increased by about 20% or 25% in the past number of years.

Farmers have had a reduction in prices combined with a massive increase in costs, which means an Armageddon of challenges for many farmers. They understand that the Government recognises that and that is why the permit scheme is being put in place. I call on the Minister of State to talk to farming organisations and outline as quickly as possible the payments they will receive for the first year.

I thank Senator Ahearn for raising this important issue and I am pleased to have the opportunity to address the challenges currently being experienced by tillage farmers throughout the country and to outline the Government’s response.

I acknowledge the pressures facing the tillage sector. Coming on the back of two horrendously difficult years weather-wise, conditions for harvest 2025 were, thankfully, much more favourable. That has allowed fieldwork to be undertaken and completed in a timely fashion with generally good yields. However, the sector has encountered additional pressures this year due to challenging market conditions and downward pressure on prices, as the Senator stated. This, combined with continued high input costs, has had a significant negative impact on crop margins.

The Government recognises the importance of the tillage sector. It is an integral part of Irish farming and produces high-quality animal feed and bedding for the livestock sector and ingredients for the food and drink industry. The sector makes a significant contribution to the Irish economy, estimated at €1.9 billion per annum over the 2018-22 period. It is also important in terms of employment and is estimated to support over 11,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

My ministerial colleagues and I regularly engage with farmer representative bodies on tillage matters. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, has met them on several occasions since his appointment, including through pre-budget engagements and, most recently, at the tillage crisis meeting held on 12 September in Naas. I fully understand their concerns and their ambition to support, grow and develop the sector. The Government shares that ambition and is committed to growing the sector in line with targets set out in the climate action plan. My Department has provided substantial supports to tillage farmers in recent years. Schemes specific to the tillage sector, including the straw incorporation measure, the tillage incentive scheme, the protein aid scheme and the tillage capital investment scheme, have proved popular among tillage growers and it is widely acknowledged that these schemes made a significant contribution to the tillage sector in recent years as well as contributing to meeting Ireland’s environmental objectives.

In 2026, my Department will support the tillage sector with funding of €50 million through the protein aid scheme, the straw incorporation measure and a new tillage support scheme.

This marks a significant and direct investment by the Government, evidencing its commitment to the sector.

Having secured a funding allocation for the new tillage support scheme, my Department intends to consult further with stakeholders on its design and operation in due course. In addition to these measures, tillage growers will continue to benefit from other schemes next year, including the tillage capital investment scheme, ACRES and the organic farming scheme. This year, the budget for the protein aid scheme is €10 million, having increased from €7 million to €10 million annually from last year. Applications totalling €15 million in value and covering approximately 66,000 hectares of cereals and oilseed rape straw were submitted under the straw incorporation measure and the Department made the decision to approve payments to all eligible applicants. In February of this year, I announced €32.4 million in payments under the tillage and horticulture support scheme. The Farming for Water EIP, with a total budget of €60 million, is supporting targeted on-farm measures to improve water quality. Over 1,400 tillage farmers have expressed interest in establishing cover crops under this initiative in 2025.

As I mentioned at the outset, this Government wants to grow and develop the sector in the years ahead. It was for this reason that the Food Vision tillage group was established in 2023 to provide a clear roadmap for the sustainable growth and development of the sector while improving its environmental footprint. The report of the Food Vision tillage group is a comprehensive document containing 28 action points across several themes. It identifies opportunities for growth, including the development of new value-added opportunities for Irish tillage crop output to strengthen the sector’s long-term sustainability.

My Department continues to engage with stakeholders to progress the implementation of these actions. As it is an industry-led report, its success will depend on continued collaboration and sustained effort from all stakeholders.

I thank the Minister of State for his detailed reply. He is correct. His Department has been very supportive over the past number of years in introducing new schemes to support the tillage sector, in particular the straw incorporation measure and the protein aid scheme. Those schemes, in the last year, amounted to roughly €10 million each. The announcement of the €50 million is very welcome and there seems to be, within the tillage sector, a kind of understanding that, of the €50 million, €10 million will go to the straw incorporation measure and €10 million will go to the protein aid scheme, which leaves around €30 million for the tillage scheme. If the Minister of State is going to be tightening the measures or working with farming organisations to make sure people who really need it get it as opposed to everyone getting it, that increases the individual level per acre that people are going to be paid, which is very welcome.

We all know it is an incredibly difficult time for tillage farmers. I was speaking to one tillage farmer of five or six generations. He said that, for the first time in his life, he was really not sure if there was a future in it. He loves the farm and loves working on it. As the Minister of State would understand, the farmer has an appreciation that he is just holding the farm until the next generation comes along but he said he was very worried about it. What we need to do, and what the Minister of State has done, in fairness, is set out not just a one-year emergency measure but a long-term plan on how we can support this sector. As has been outlined, there are 11,000 people working directly or indirectly in it and there is a knock-on effect for our economy. In every sector in agriculture, we grow the best quality of food and grain in the world. We need to be able to make sure these good tillage farmers are being supported to produce that going forward.

I know the Senator raised this with me this morning. We had a meeting in the Department recently regarding the tillage industry with the senior Minister, Deputy Martin Heydon. He mentioned that he spoke to the Senator about this and the concerns the Senator raised. I know that, in the area of the country the Senator comes from, there are a lot of tillage farmers who grow grain, corn and things like that. As he clearly stated, the price of renting land has gone up from €200 to nearly €400 and the price of manure and fertiliser has gone up a lot while the price of the grain has gone down. The Minister is very well aware of that; the Senator has raised it with him. The Minister was very adamant in the negotiations coming up to the budget that there would be a substantial amount of money put in there to support the tillage growers. The Minister has made it quite clear that he wants to target it to help the people who have suffered most in this. Some people might not have suffered, given the crops they might have got over the past number of years thanks to the weather, but the Minister is determined to bring a scheme in to help the tillage industry. I acknowledge that the Senator has raised it. I also acknowledge the case he outlined in the House. I will bring it to the attention of the Minister.

Gabhaim buíochas leat, a Aire Stáit. Sin tusa críochnaithe. Anois beidh an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Kieran O’Donnell, linn.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, for being here. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, was keen to be here but she had a prior commitment and I appreciate that the Minister of State is here on her behalf.

The issue I raise relates to Jigsaw and my disappointment at the fact that we did not get a Jigsaw service for Newbridge and surrounding areas in the budget announced last week. I will prove the need for it. I will also refer to the fact that, having raised this matter several times in this House and in the Dáil, there was certainly a view that Newbridge was going to be next on the list.

Jigsaw provides a really good service. I know it is currently in 12 different areas around Ireland and will be in two more. I am delighted that the young people of Waterford and Clare are going to have the opportunity to have this service but I want to highlight why it is needed in Newbridge and why I am so disappointed that, yet again, we have been left out. I have raised this several times here and have had a number of Commencement matters in relation to it. I also have a report from the children and young people's services committee, CYPSC, and Ms Emma Berney, who does an incredible job as co-ordinator of the CYPSC programme in Kildare. From some of the stats she has put together in her most recent report, we know from the census of 2022 that Kildare has the highest number of young people aged under 24 years in the State, representing 36.6% of our total population. It is understandable that if we have the highest population of young people, we are going to have one of the highest rates of issues with regard to the need for intervention for young people.

The number of under-25s in Kildare is actually higher than the total population of each of the following counties: Offaly, Cavan, Sligo, Roscommon, Monaghan, Carlow, Longford and Leitrim. It is evident that the profile of the county's population has not yet peaked and there is going to be an increased demand for young people's services over the next decade. That scale of need is not reflected in current national resource allocation. In 2020, the number of young people admitted to a psychiatric unit or a child or adolescent unit was far higher than the State rate of 14.4%. It was the seventh highest admittance rate in Ireland. The waiting list for CAMHS has doubled over the past number of years. In 2021, there was a total of 24 suicides across all ages. I really do not like bringing negative stats into it but only four areas were higher. It exceeded the national average for all years from 2011. The number of cases of young people treated for cocaine in Kildare increased by 125% between 2019 and 2021.

I brought Jigsaw to Newbridge and we looked at possible places. I genuinely felt that, once extra funding was put into this, Newbridge would get that but, sadly, it has not.

I am asking the Minister and the Department to assess feasibility and the community need. We all know the Jigsaw hub would not only support mental health but also foster resilience, inclusion and long-term well-being in our county. It has to be a priority going forward.

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Deputy Mary Butler. Improving access to a range of youth mental health services nationally remains a priority for the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, the Department of Health, and the HSE.

In the broader context, the total allocation for mental health services in 2026 is nearly €1.6 billion and it is the sixth year in a row in which the mental health budget has been increased. Specifically in relation to youth mental health, this year’s budget provided funding for new early intervention youth mental health services, funding to support a digital single point of access for youth mental health services, an additional specialist CAMHS eating disorders team, two new mental health intellectual disability teams for children and five new mental health discovery colleges for young people. As occurs each year following the budget, discussions will now take place with the HSE on details relating to specific service initiatives in the context of preparing the 2026 HSE service plan, including that for mental health.

Jigsaw already receives significant funding of over €14 million from the HSE under a service-level agreement to provide youth mental health services for those with mild-to-moderate mental health difficulties. This service-level agreement is managed by the HSE at national level. Under budget 2026, Jigsaw has been allocated an additional €1.3 million to support the development of new services, including a service for the south east, based in Waterford city, with outreach into south Kilkenny, south Wexford and west Waterford, and an extension of the service in Limerick into County Clare. No new physical Jigsaw locations have been funded since 2020 when the organisation pivoted to develop a suite of new digital services during, and in the aftermath of, the pandemic. These digital services are available to all young people in Ireland, no matter where they are based, directly from jigsaw.ie. Jigsaw has since focused on the delivery of its existing services, including the adoption of a new single-session-first clinical model which has proven to be effective at achieving very positive mental health outcomes for young people while reducing waiting times.

Over the past year, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has been examining the different options to expand access to early intervention youth mental health services, including inviting proposals from Mental Health Ireland, the organisation behind the Mindspace Mayo service. The Minister of State is aware of the significant efforts by the Senator to establish a service for the young people of Kildare and will work with representatives from all areas to deliver full national coverage for early intervention youth mental health services.

I note the specific ask by Senator O'Loughlin regarding Kildare and Newbridge. I will highlight this to the Minister of State and the Department. I know the Senator has had detailed discussions with the Minister of State and I expect those will continue.

I thank the Minister of State. I acknowledge that I spoke to the Minister's adviser yesterday. I am not at all happy with that response. I went through the statistics earlier. County Kildare has the highest rate of youth suicide in Leinster. That has to stand for something. I always try to be positive about my town and my county because I believe in being positive. I do not believe in being negative. but I am so disappointed by this response and the budget allocation. I accept that no new physical location has been put in place since 2020. I talked to Jigsaw and the HSE and I had discussions with the previous Minister of State with responsibility for mental health. I was told that after Wicklow and Tipperary, Newbridge was next in terms of need. Initially, when I saw two new centres were to be opened, without knowing where they were, I assumed and wrote to the Minister of State on the basis that one of them would be in Newbridge. It is not good enough to say that the services are online. I agree that it is better than nothing and it is good to have a cohort online, but young people who have a huge sense of helplessness need to have face-to-face and one-to-one contact. I again make the appeal that Newbridge be considered in the next round.

Before the Minister of State responds, I welcome the Old Belvedere Rugby Football Club men's shed to the Public Gallery. Before I became a politician, the best grilling I got and the best preparation for debate was with the Loughrea men's shed in County Galway. I sat in with them a few times and they prepared me for life in politics very well, I welcome you all to the Gallery today and fair play to you for coming up.

I too welcome the members of the men's shed. I have no doubt there are some great rugby players in the group. They are welcome to Leinster House and the beautiful Seanad Chamber.

Several factors need to be considered in the development of a new services location for services like Jigsaw. A proposal for a new location requires a detailed business case, premises, support from the regional HSE management and necessary funding to resource the staffing of the service. Any proposal also requires agreement from the HSE national child and youth mental health office in the context of agreeing new service priorities under the annual Estimates process and the development of the HSE national service plan for the next year. The Minister of State is very aware of the significant efforts by Senator O'Loughlin to secure a Jigsaw service for Kildare, including trying to secure a premises and arrange for representatives from Jigsaw to evaluate its suitability. The Minister of State is determined to ensure we have full and appropriate national coverage, so that no matter where a person lives in Ireland, they will receive face-to-face support from a physical area intervention service. It must be stressed that Jigsaw's online digital services are available to all young people in Ireland, at jigsaw.ie , no matter where they are located. Senator O'Loughlin can rest assured that the Minister of State will continue to work with her, the Department of Health and the HSE to ensure that young people in Kildare and every county in Ireland have easy access to intervention and care in the near future.

I will bring the issues Senator O'Loughlin has raised to the attention of the Minister of State. I have no doubt she will continue to work with the Senator regarding Jigsaw services in Kildare in general and more specifically in Newbridge.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Hildegarde Naughton, as teacht isteach.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit chuig an Teach. Before I outline my case, I thank the Minister of State for taking time out of her very busy schedule recently to visit County Monaghan and the Errigal Truagh Special Needs Parents and Friends CLG. We look forward to that project and many others in the region progressing.

I raise once again the issue of the much-needed replacement facility for day services at Clogher House in Cavan. Last year the area's disability services, supported by HSE estates' north east department, completed a comprehensive submission for capital funding for a new day service premises to replace the premises based in Rathcorrick. With the best will in the world, the premises there, unfortunately, leaves a lot to be desired. That in no way diminishes the quality of service that those attending receive from the staff there. The submission in question was supported by the development of a new day activation unit in County Cavan and I was very happy last year when €4.6 million was allocated to progress the project. I understand there is a process to go through. A greenfield site, in line with national policy standards, was identified and deemed suitable in Cavan town, to provide services for a new day-activation unit and a lease option was explored.

The property review group advised that the submission was classed as a works contract and, therefore, would need to be advertised in line with public procurement guidelines and eTenders. An initial timeline was set out for the eTenders process and signed off from HSE property, with detailed design, planning permission and, finally, construction, commissioning and equipping. In November of last year, stage 1 of the procurement process to identify a suitable provider to deliver a facility for the HSE in Cavan town was concluded and stage 2 of the procurement process had commenced. I understand that the HSE has invested in a number of initiatives at the existing premises, and that is very much welcome, but it is clear that a new premises is what is required.

I look forward to the Minister of State outlining this morning where exactly this project is at. Needless to say, everyone would like to see it delivered yesterday because the premises where the service is currently located, as I said earlier, leaves a lot to be desired. Those attending, the service users, and the staff deserve much better. I hope now that we have got to a point where we are ready to progress this. I look forward to the Minister of State's response.

I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this important issue and giving me the opportunity to respond. Day services are Health Service Executive-funded programmes for people with intellectual disabilities, autism or complex physical disabilities that include a range of centre-based and community-based activities. Access to services is based on an individual's needs rather than on their diagnosis. The focus is on supporting people to participate in mainstream activities and in the life of their community, in line with their wishes and their needs.

Clogher House is a day activation unit premises based in Rathcorrick, Cavan. The HSE advises that a comprehensive submission for capital funding for a new day services premises to replace Clogher House, in line with the national HSE New Directions policy for adult day services, was approved in 2024. HSE disability services and HSE Dublin north-east capital and estates concluded a tender process for a leasehold site in Cavan, which was approved in July 2025. The HSE capital and estates regional office has now issued letters to the successful and unsuccessful tenderers. Once all outstanding issues are addressed, the HSE will look at engaging with the preferred provider on milestones and a programme of delivery.

Government investment has enabled the replacement of much-needed service locations such as Clogher House, Rathcorrick, and within the sector the New Directions policy has guided a major programme of change to reconfigure adult services, based on the core values of person-centredness, community inclusion, active citizenship and high-quality service provision. There are over 20,000 individuals with a disability in receipt of day services, together with a further 2,049 in rehabilitative training services. These services are provided at 1,091 locations around the country by 97 service providers. A total of €3.8 billion has been allocated for specialist disability services in budget 2026. That represents nearly a 20% increase year on year. This includes funding for a new cohort of 1,400 school leavers and in the order of 50 day service places for non-school leavers - for example, people who acquire a disability later in life.

I again thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

I thank the Minister of State for her response. I am delighted that a preferred end user has been identified and that the HSE will now progress to finalising matters with that preferred provider. Has the Minister of State any idea of the timelines involved in that or when that process will conclude? Can she give us any idea as to when approximately - I do not expect her to give the exact date - the people can expect this facility to be up and running? It is very much needed and in many instances long overdue.

I am as anxious as the Senator about this and I know that its progression as quickly as possible is really important in his constituency. The HSE will look at engaging with the preferred provider on the milestones and a programme of delivery. I can come back to the Senator with further detail on that. I am in contact with the HSE. I am just looking for further information about the progress of this really important facility for the Senator's constituency.