The date of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's address to the US Congress has been narrowed down to either the last week in April or the first week in May, the Government said yesterday.
When questioned yesterday, the Taoiseach's spokesman said that the specific details had yet to be worked out but a date in late April or early May was now highly likely.
The spokesman pointed out that the date was not in the gift of the Government, but lay rather with the leaders of the US Senate and the US House of Representatives.
The arrangements are being co-ordinated on behalf of the Government by the Irish Ambassador in Washington DC, Michael Collins.
A trip in late April or early May would mean the Taoiseach making two trips to Washington in the spring.
He will travel to the US capital for the annual shamrock bowl ceremony in the White House on St Patrick's Day, hosted by President George W Bush.
The address to the Joint Houses of Congress - the first by a Fianna Fáil leader since Éamon de Valera in the 1960s - will be hosted by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California) and by Senator Robert Bryd, a Democrat from West Virginia who presides over the Senate.
Several Fine Gael taoisigh, including Liam Cosgrave, Garret FitzGerald and John Bruton, have addressed the joint houses.
The most recent address by a foreign head of state was that given by French president Nicolas Sarkozy last November.
Mr Ahern's spokesman reiterated that the Taoiseach was highly honoured at the invitation and would be one of the few leaders to have addressed the joint houses in both Washington and Westminster.
Mr Ahern's address to Congress is expected to focus heavily on the Northern Ireland peace process, the economic success of Ireland since the mid-1990s and the close economic, political, cultural and historical ties between Ireland and the United States.