The St Patrick's Day White House reception to which Northern Ireland party leaders, including Sinn Féin, have been invited in the past is likely to take place again this year, despite the fall-out from the Northern Bank robbery.
"We will have St Patrick's Day like we always do," said Republican Congressman Mr Jim Walsh, after being briefed on recent developments along with a group of Irish American Congress members by US special envoy Mr Mitchell Reiss.
Sinn Féin's Mr Gerry Kelly said yesterday that a US state department official told him that speculation about the St Patrick's Day reception being cancelled to allow President Bush to avoid Mr Gerry Adams in the wake of the bank raid controversy had not come from his department.