Fine Gael has abandoned plans to launch its first official fundraising trip to the US to raise money for election expenses.
Party leader Enda Kenny had planned to travel to New York and Boston before the general election to raise some of the €3.5 million it plans to spend on the campaign.
It is understood Mr Kenny was hoping to incorporate fundraising events around a visit he is making to New York in early March when he will be the recipient of the Mayo Society Mayo Man of the Year Award.
The idea to fundraise in the US emerged when Mr Kenny visited the US last autumn and some Irish-American Fine Gael supporters suggested it.
However, a Fine Gael spokesman said yesterday that to fundraise, the party would have to comply with US federal law and Irish electoral law, and there was not time to have everything arranged between now and the election. "At this stage we are not going to go ahead. Too much would have to be arranged in advance," he said.
However, Mr Kenny will go ahead with his visit in March to receive his award. In December the party's director of organisation, Phil Hogan, said the party was organising a fundraising trip, and said the necessary legal arrangements were being put in place. He said the party felt it could raise €250,000.
There are rules governing donations to political parties by people in other countries. Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) regulations say parties must not accept a donation from an individual other than an Irish citizen who resides abroad.
Furthermore, a donation cannot be accepted from a company that does not have an office in Ireland from which at least one of its principal activities is directed.
Fianna Fáil has not fundraised in the US for several years and a spokesman said there were no plans to do so.
Sinn Féin has successfully fundraised in the US and can spend the money in Northern Ireland without having to worry about the Sipo rules. It is estimated it has raised more than €5 million in the US since 1995 when former president Bill Clinton lifted a ban on its fundraising there.
US department of justice figures show that in the 12 months to April 2006, the party raised $564,000 (€430,000).