Sinn Féin would raise taxes if extra revenue was needed to deliver fair social welfare and a better health service for all, the party made clear yesterday.
However, party leader Gerry Adams and the party's Dáil leader, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, both insisted Sinn Féin would not reach final decisions about tax increases until it enters power and examines the State's books.
Saying Sinn Féin would not "nationalise the banks" or "destabilise the economy", Mr Adams emphasised that his party would first attempt better value for taxpayers.
Ridiculing Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's declaration ruling out Sinn Féin as a coalition partner, Mr Adams said there had been "a brouhaha" about Sinn Féin's future.
The focus on Sinn Féin showed that the other Dáil parties believe "that Sinn Féin will have the mandate to be in government and that Sinn Féin will have the numbers.
"If it comes to it that a taoiseach-in-waiting needs to cosy up to Sinn Féin in a Dáil chamber, or in a corridor then do you want to put a bet on it that we won't be getting phone calls?" Mr Adams asked political correspondents during a briefing in Dublin.
He sharply rejected charges that Sinn Féin's representatives in the Republic do not have enough experience to run multi-billion euro government departments: "We couldn't do any worse," he told The Irish Times.
Sinn Féin would try to stand in all 43 constituencies in the next general election: "Whatever comes out of the election we will be seeking to negotiate a programme for government which would have two elements to it.
"One would deal with the here and now, equality. The utilisation of the wealth that is here to build equitable public services.
"The other main plank would be about the peace process, the delivery of the GFA [ Good Friday agreement], a strategy for Irish unity.
"We will be interested in going into coalition if we get agreement on such a programme. The decision would be taken by a special ardfheis," he said.
Declaring his belief that taxes in the State are too low, he said: "This is a time of great wealth. We have the largest surplus in the history of the Exchequer.
"We would need to spend twice as much on social protection to get up to the same levels as other EU states. We are well behind.
"We have the largest gap between rich and poor of any industrialised country except the USA," Mr Adams said.
"There has been a lot of ill-informed commentary that Sinn Féin would nationalise the banks. Sinn Féin would not nationalise the banks. We do believe that there is merit in having a State bank," he said.
A still uncompleted review under way of the party's economics policies, led by Mitchel McLaughlin and former general secretary Robbie Smyth, favours increasing corporation tax to 17.5 per cent, creating a "super-tax" of 50 per cent for those earning over €100,000 a year, and still undecided increases in capital gains taxes.
Mr Ó Caoláin said: "We need to be very clear. Sinn Féin wants to be in government. We are not mealy-mouthed about that."
However, he acknowledged: "We opposed the decreases that McCreevy presided over, but we are not saying to corporate Ireland and we are not saying to the Irish electorate that we are going into government with the clear intent of increasing corporation tax. We are not about destabilising the economy.
"We are not about disadvantaging any section of the Irish economy, but, in the pursuit of equality in all of the areas that I have explained, we are prepared, and we have indicated this very clearly, to examine those areas of taxation that can address that need. But we will have to quantify that need. We are not making a second guess, we are running ballpark figures. We need to have informed information, we need to have access to the Department of Finance, something that is not open to us," Mr Ó Caoláin added.
