The United States government is set to deny Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams permission to raise funds when he visits the country next week.
State department sources told The Irish Times that Washington is unlikely to drop its ban on visiting Sinn Féin politicians raising money in the US until the party makes a move towards joining the North's policing board.
Sinn Féin is allowed to collect money in the US but since January this year, visiting politicians from the party have been forbidden to take part in fundraising events.
The ban was imposed in response to the Northern Bank robbery and the murder of Robert McCartney. Despite IRA decommissioning, Sinn Féin negotiator Martin McGuinness was not allowed to raise funds during a visit to the US last month.
Seven congressmen last month called for the ban to be lifted, arguing that it could have a negative impact on the political situation in the North. However the US administration believes that the fundraising issue represents a lever to persuade Sinn Féin to change its policy on policing.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern told The Irish Times that the Government had made no representations to Washington on behalf of Sinn Féin.
"I don't see it as the Government's place to tell the US government what they should or should not do in relation to fundraising by another political party," he said. "I think it's a matter entirely for the US administration to decide who should or should not fundraise within their territory.
