Sinn Féin would engage with top civil servants regarding economic decisions if in government, the party's finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty has said.

The comments come following housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin's apology to the State’s chief economist after calling for him to be sacked.

Speaking on The Anton Savage Show, Mr Doherty said: "My view was that we need to listen, we need to respect, we need to engage with expert advice."

"At the end of the day, it is ministers who make the decision."

"It is the people who elect our TDs, who elect our ministers, and the buck stops with them."

According to Mr Doherty, it is not civil servants responsible for the housing crisis. It is government ministers.

He said that Sinn Féin does not seek to surround itself with "yes men or yes women", but instead people "who challenge ideas".

Demand for change

"What this is about is the demand for real change that we're seeing right across the island", Mr Doherty said.

"We've seen is reflected in the Assembly elections that took place last May, where [Sinn Féin] was elected the largest party in the North."

According to him, the DUP is "trying to hold onto the past" by not entering into power sharing in Northern Ireland.

Mr Doherty said that the "appetite for change" is reflected in the opinion polls.

In last week's Sunday Business Post Red C poll, Sinn Féin was in the lead with 35%, followed by Fine Gael on 21% and Fianna Fáil on 16%.

"Kwasi Doherty"

Recently, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar likened Mr Doherty to a British Tory, calling him "Kwasi Doherty".

The Sinn Féin TD said that the Conservative Party in Britain is "more akin to Fine Gael than Sinn Féin", given that Fine Gael and the Tories share the same member party in the European People's Party.

"Sinn Féin have always put forward costed alternative budgets that showed how we can deliver the change that people want in society", Mr Doherty said.

"Indeed, we are the party that believes that those at the higher end, those who earn €140,000 plus, should pay more tax."

He said that Dublin rents don't need to be the most expensive in Europe.

"With the right policies, with the right determination and with the right team ... these issues can be tackled."

United Ireland

Mr Doherty believes that now is the time to prepare for a 32-county Republic, reminding listeners of the Good Friday Agreement requirement to hold such a referendum.

"Change is happening", he said.

"We see it reflected in successive elections where Unionism has lost its majority."

Over 5,000 people attended an event in the 3 Arena last month on the subject of a united Ireland - a conversation Mr Doherty says is "growing in momentum".

"People came from all parts of the country to discuss and debate how we'd create and shape a new Ireland."

He likened the issue of Irish unity with Brexit, saying that his party is hoping to avoid Britain's "failure to plan" for such a significant vote.

Listen back to the full conversation here.