Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My understanding of the party leaders' allowance is that it is based on the number of elected Oireachtas Members who are affiliated to the party at a general and Seanad election. The elections are decided by the people in the case of the Dáil and an electorate in the case of the Seanad. That is the reason for the continuance of these allowances, as the people were elected as members of the parties. That is the point of time at which people decided that certain politicians should be Members of this or the other House.