The Minister for Finance has challenged Fine Gael TDs not to accept benchmarking pay awards.
Mr McCreevy reminded the party that this could be done under the Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices and Oireachtas (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001.
"I look forward to the Fine Gael members availing of this facility, which is clearly demanded by their attitude. They can be assured that all payments forfeited will be put to good use."
The Minister was responding to a Fine Gael Private Members' motion calling for the suspension of the payment of the remaining phases of benchmarking "pending implementation of a serious reform package which would yield improvements in the quality of services delivered to the public, commensurate with the extra cost involved".
The House will vote on the motion tonight.
Earlier, the Fine Gael party leader, Mr Enda Kenny, said that benchmarking, as currently constituted, was "a brilliant insight into how the Government is running and ruining this country".
He added that the Coalition's version "revealed a political vision more in keeping with the government of a rogue state than that of one shortly to assume a defining role in modern international politics".
He said that, as with many bad deals, the details of the award were devised in secret and kept secret.
He said the problem with benchmarking did not rest with public servants. "The problem rests with the Government.
"It promised a reward without a proper reform package that could be publicly scrutinised and quantified in return."
Ireland, said Mr Kenny, had a billion-euro deficit. "Growth in Irish business is virtually nil. Inflation remains double the EU average, the highest in the euro-zone. One in four overseas managers has lost confidence in Ireland as a place to do business. By year's end, there will be 45,000 job losses.
"The Taoiseach, himself, warns more on the way. Surely then, in the national interest, it is time to shout 'stop'."
Defending the benchmarking payments, Mr McCreevy said benchmarking was not some esoteric process or arcane mystery.
"It was essentially a process that measured the wages and salaries of workers in the public service, and compared them to jobs in the private sector.
"In making this comparison, allowance had to be made for the differences between the two sectors, such as on job security and superannuation. The jobs were measured by a job-scoring system, which is a common approach to measuring different jobs."
The Fine Gael motion, he said, was asking the Government to break an agreement reached only last January with the social partners.
"This would inevitably mean the collapse of Sustaining Progress and probably the end of the social partnership process that has served this country well since the late 1980s."
The Labour spokeswoman on finance, Ms Joan Burton, said the annual report of the Comptroller and Auditor General had confirmed, yet again, the significant costs of tax breaks and allowances created by the Government to specifically benefit very wealthy people.
"In a climate in which many are questioning the notion of pay rises through benchmarking, we are entitled to demand that this Government shows what value for money is involved in these extraordinarily generous tax breaks. Today's report has to be addressed in the context of the Government seeking value for money from the benchmarking process."
