The Social Democrats will "talk to everyone" about forming a government after the next general election, according to party leader Holly Cairns.
Ms Cairns said that the party do not want to go into government to make up the numbers and would not over promise and under deliver.
"We'll talk to everybody. Absolutely. And that is the plan. After the election, we'll talk to all parties.
"Our main focus between now and then is to try and get as many people elected as possible, to build a strong mandate as possible.
"Because ultimately, we don't want to go into government to make up the numbers. We want to go into government to implement our policies," she said.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, the Social Democrats leader said the next election feels like an opportunity for her party to turn policies into opportunities for communities.
Ms Cairns said the Social Democrats’ priority has been to invest in public services and "lift people out of poverty" and she insisted that a new approach on housing is needed.
The party’s housing plan will be published in the coming weeks, she said, and will focus on bridging "the affordability gap".
"In our plan, the direct support would go towards the not-for-profit sector, which has proven to be able to build affordable purchase homes because that's the key thing here," Ms Cairns said.
She added: "Homes being built that are completely unaffordable isn't the answer to this. That's where the priority needs to be."
Ms Cairns said that under her party’s plan the owner would own the house and the land.
The Cork South-West TD added that it was important for Ireland to "control the price" of houses and move away from viewing housing "as an investment vehicle".
"Housing is somewhere where you can build a future, put down roots, raise a family, have kind of a grounding and an independence.
"But that can be done through the way that land is zoned and that's the focus of the Social Democrats," she said.
Ms Cairns said nothing is being taken for granted in terms of the seats that the party might win, but it is keen to build on its momentum from the local elections earlier this year.
