Government Ministers have hit back at comments from President Michael D Higgins after he said the United Nations is “losing credibility”. 

At the opening of the National Ploughing Championships, President Higgins said the UN is unable to stop war and famine or manage conflicts and migration. 

“More and more, the United Nations is falling, is losing credibility,” he said. 

Speaking from the UN General Assembly, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said the UN is the only organisation bringing countries together to try and address international issues. 

“Millions and millions of people would be destitute, they would be much poorer without the UN and agencies of the UN,” he said. 

“The UN is very relevant to people all over Africa and the Middle East.” 

'The only mechanism we have'

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said the President should understand this important relationship. 

“[Higgins] has always been a champion for multilateralism, and that’s what the UN brings,” he said 

“People can give up and think the world is going to hell in a handbasket and we’ve got migration happening at a scale that is unprecedented. 

“But the UN is the only mechanism we have for resolving a lot of those problems.” 

Mr Higgins also criticised the “US style” of agricultural production the EU has adopted. 

“If farming as a way of life is to be sustainable in practice, it will require the security of better socially designed supports,” he said. 

“We debated such issues a long time ago, long before U.S. style agriculture production became such an influence on European Union agricultural policies at Commission level.” 

He said sustainability in farming should be an important point of discussion at this year’s Ploughing Championships. 

“Feeding our planet’s people with necessary nutritious food has to be achieved in a new way, one that allows for sustainability,” he said.