Managing directors choose Mercedes, divisional managers favour Ford and other levels of management opt for Opel when it comes to picking a company car, the Inbucon survey of executive pay and benefits found.

It shows that 47.6 per cent of Irish executives had a company car compared to 45.2 per cent in the previous survey and the likelihood of executives having one increased with rank and salary levels.

Of those earning up to £30,000 a year, 28 per cent enjoy the use of a car but for those earning more than £30,000, this jumps to 61.6 per cent while 77.4 per cent of managing directors had a company car.

Life assurance, free medical insurance, low-interest loans, subsidised lunches and telephone allowances are among the other fringe benefits enjoyed by executives and managers in Ireland.

Nearly 55 per cent of managing directors receive free medical insurance, 77.4 per cent benefit from life assurance, while 48.4 per cent are given a telephone allowance.

But among all managers, the numbers receiving life assurance fell to 70.4 per cent in the year to July from 79.8 per cent a year earlier although those benefiting from free medical insurance rose to 47.2 per cent from 41 per cent.

Slightly more than a quarter of all managers get a telephone allowance, 44 per cent enjoys subsidised lunches and 5.6 per cent get low-interest loans.

The survey shows that 97 per cent of executives receive between 20 and 29 working days holidays each year. Just more than 10 per cent of managing directors are entitled to 30 days or more although Inbucon says the evidence suggests few of them exercise this right.

Of the 160 companies surveyed, 96 per cent had established pension schemes, while 52 per cent operated a separate pension scheme for executives.

In order to shorten the period of service needed to reach full pension entitlement, some companies operate "Top Hat" schemes, paying higher contributions on behalf of an executive.

Of the firms surveyed, 30 per cent operate such schemes for some or all of their executives and 40 per cent of managing directors benefit from such an arrangement, while 66 per cent of the pension schemes surveyed allowed for early retirement.

A spouse's pension as a death in service benefit was provided by 67 per cent of firms, 76 per cent offered a lump-sum death benefit, while the percentage of companies with a disability/income continuance scheme in operation was 61 per cent.