President asks voters to reject ‘cynicism and nihilism’ in election

President Michael D Higgins has called on voters to reject "cynicism and nihilism" and engage in the democratic process as the general election approaches.

Mr Higgins, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly, said it is time to engage with practical options that will address the problems facing Ireland but declined to make further comment on the forthcoming electoral contest, likely to take place next spring.

Taking questions from reporters at an event to thank Irish staff working at the UN, Mr Higgins was asked how the Labour Party, of which he was a member until his election as President in 2011, will perform in the election.

“I think there are others you should ask that question,” he joked. “I think it’s very important that people participate in the democratic process. It is not a time for cynicism or nihilism. It’s a time for engaging with practical options that address our problems and prospects and our great opportunities both at home and abroad.”

The General Assembly saw 193 world leaders commit to 17 Sustainable Development Goals designed to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and combat climate change by 2030. The global goals replace the Millennium Development Goals and Ireland, along with Kenya, was a co-facilitator of intergovernmental talks that led to the agreement.

The President praised the role played by David Donoghue, the Irish Ambassador to the UN, and his staff in securing the agreement.

“Well let me say that I think it is one of greatest achievements for Ireland,” Mr Higgins said. “There is no doubt whatsoever that if you look at what are the aspects of Ireland’s reputation abroad that people know and admire, there’s our peacekeeping, there’s also those who have been working in the agencies who sometimes just get on with it and who don’t hit the front.

“But to actually have been chosen and given a special task in 2013, which was in coming to the end of what was then the Millennium Development Goals. To be given the task with Kenya of putting the negotiation process together, and also remember there was the question then of allowing as many people as possible into the discourse.”