Mr Michael Noonan or Mr Jim Mitchell would notice a pleasant change in their financial circumstances if either became Fine Gael party leader.
The leader of Fine Gael receives a salary of approximately £30,000 from the party, in addition to his or her Dail salary of over £41,000.
According to a spokeswoman for Fine Gael, other allowances or benefits are a private matter and are decided by the trustees of the party. Mr John Bruton has the use of a State car and driver because of his former status as taoiseach, but a new party leader would have to negotiate with Fine Gael trustees for this benefit.
Allowances for travel, offices and clothes would also have to be negotiated with the party trustees, she said.
Like other party leaders, the Fine Gael leader receives a Party Leader's Allowance, which varies depending on the size of the party. Currently Mr Bruton receives such an allowance, of £67,631 per month, but this is for party purposes only.
According to the Oireachtas press office, the leader of the main opposition party does not receive any perks from the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Oireachtas spokeswoman said Mr Bruton's office was a little bigger than others, "but it's nothing to write home about".
The spokeswoman said this was partly explained by Mr Bruton's former status as a taoiseach, and not because he was leader of the main Opposition party.
Asked if Mr Bruton's successor would take over his office, she said that would be a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The only Oireachtas members with extra allowances or salaries were ceanncomhairle, leas-ceanncomhairle, cathaoirleach, leascathaoir leach, ministers and ministers of State, she said.
Currently, all TDs receive a flat Dail salary of £41,339. Members who live within 15 miles of Leinster House receive a daily allowance of £45 for attending, while those outside Dublin can choose between a flat daily allowance of £45 or an overnight allowance of £96.90 and a mileage allowance starting at 75.64p per mile.
Members also receive a non-taxable annual travel allowance which varies between £2,000 and £6,400, depending on the constituency.
A miscellaneous expense allowance of £4,000 is payable for constituency clinics while TDs also receive a telephone allowance of up to £4,000. Committee chairs and whips in Dail Eireann are entitled to an additional £1,000 towards telephone calls.
All deputies are entitled to a special secretarial allowance of £5,000, and if members opt not to have a secretarial assistant in Leinster House, they are entitled to a once-off grant of £5,444 and an annual grant of £5,000 to maintain the office.
