The Taoiseach Brian Cowen says it is not yet decided who will go to Washington for St Patrick's Day.
It was recently proposed that President Mary McAleese should represent Ireland in the White House, although the Taoiseach usually makes the trip.
With the date yet to be set for the General Election, it is speculated that Brian Cowen may not make the journey.
He told Midlands 103 a decision has yet to be made on who will spend March 17 with Barack Obama, but added that St Patrick's Day represented "a wonderful opportunity that no other country has to access practically all the main capitals of the world to show how Ireland is doing and what it has to offer".