Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has not ruled out forming a government with any other party after the next general election.
Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics, she pledged to speak to all parties when all the votes are counted.
However, she said that the best option would be a "government for change" which would not include Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.
If Sinn Féin were in government after the next election, Ms McDonald promised that her party's TDs would be "match fit" from day one to deliver for people.
Asked if the door would be open to former Fianna Fáil TD Marc McSharry to join Sinn Féin, she said "I'm not sure that he would".
Ms McDonald reiterated her party's position that there cannot be a return to Direct Rule if an Executive is not formed in Northern Ireland.
She said there has to be partnership between Dublin and London which takes account of a changed political landscape in Northern Ireland.
"It is very important that Dublin is front-footed, proactive and prepared," she said.
Ms McDonald also confirmed that if her her party was in power, her government would borrow more to deliver more housing.
She said Sinn Féin has asked the Government to explore and bring forward a mortgage interest relief scheme "not open ended, but time bound", to capture the portion of the interest rate that is problematic for households and wants banks which are highly profitable to absorb the cost.
On climate action she said Sinn Féin would focus on getting the practicalities right rather than on targets.
"We can't have a big State spend that ties us into fossil fuels over the longer term but we also have to make sure we can keep the lights on," she said.
