Mary Lou McDonald has said if Sinn Féin is to go into government, she wants it to be as the larger party in any coalition.

“I would like to see Sinn Fein in government as the larger party in any coalition,” she said, while also clarifying she was speaking in a personal capacity.

Ms McDonald said she is wary of the danger of being the smaller party in a coalition, an arrangement which she says often sees the junior partner “get screwed”.

“I think history reflect this well, that the smaller party in coalition arrangements gets done over, gets screwed.

“I would like to Sinn Féin in government as the larger party in any coalition arrangement. My personal view is that would be the only way in which we could guarantee that we had sufficient influence and sufficient clout to make sure that you went in and did something genuinely different and that you could bring about change,” she said.

Sinn Féin’s deputy president also said there would be significant issues potentially prohibiting any coalition between Sinn Féin and the current government parties or Fianna Fail.

“I think it is perhaps self-evident that Sinn Fein and Fine Gael would have very fundamental differences in policy, in values and in approach,” she said.

“I think it’s also fair to say that we would have issues with Fianna Fail.

Regarding the Labour Party, Ms McDonald said the “self-inflicted ... huge difficulties” the party has gone through in recent years represent “a huge problem.”

“I’m saying openly it is problematic as you survey the scene to imagine what that alternative government will look like,” Ms McDonald concluded.

There have been reports of a potential coalition between the two civil war parties, with senior figures in both parties now thought to be open to the idea and putting pressure on party leaders Enda Kenny and Micheal Martin to form an alliance. Ms McDonald said she believes they should “kiss and make up”.

“Those are parties that have broadly similar policy platforms,” she said.

“I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, I do they should kiss and make up. I think the civil war is over, I think they need to catch up. There isn’t really a whit of difference between them at this stage of the game in policy terms.”

Responding to the claims of Tánaiste Joan Burton that Sinn Féin are promoting a ‘kamikaze’ economic plan, Ms McDonald said.

“I think in all fairness anybody observing the Labour party and Joan Burton’s performance they might remark the kamikaze antics are theirs themselves.”