Labour has said that remarks by its Dublin MEP, Mr Proinsias de Rossa, against against a possible visit to Ireland by the US president, Mr Bush, do not represent party policy.
Mr de Rossa said last night that the Government should cancel an invitation to Mr Bush to attend an EU-US summit in Ireland because of the war in Iraq.
Addressing students at Trinty College, Dublin, he said Ireland should not be press-ganged into Mr Bush's re-election campaign by hosting a summit.
But Labour's official spokesman said: "It's not party policy because the party hasn't considered the matter," he said.
"He's expressing a view that I'm sure would have some support in the party."
The spokesman said he could not say what the party's policy was on a possible visit by Mr Bush because party TDs had not discussed the issue. Mr Bush is expected to visit to Ireland for the annual EU-US summit towards the end of Ireland's EU presidency in June. However, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it had not yet been decided whether summit will take place in Ireland.
Mr de Rossa said the US-led invasion of Iraq flouted international law. The threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction would go down as one of "the great hoaxes of history".
"Bertie Ahern now has a chance to reflect the concerns of Irish people and Europeans generally by moving the proposed visit of President Bush from Ireland to Brussels," he said.
"The location of the summit in Ireland is in fact an elaborate electioneering stunt designed to appeal to Irish-American voters.
"The US administration's interest in European international policy before the Iraq war, consisted of attempts to sow discord within the EU when we insisted on taking an independent aproach consistent with internaitonal law to problems in the Middle East."