Public servants who will be disrupted by decentralisation should not be expected to "enter into a lottery for their own jobs", the Dáil was told.
The Fine Gael finance spokesman, Mr Richard Bruton, said decentralisation was not "a simple black and white issue", and he called on the Minister for Finance to deal with the issue as one that "deserves scrutiny, care and attention so that it works, and not just condemn everyone who opposes him as being guilty of cant".
Mr Bruton added that the issue of delivery of quality public services had rarely entered into the Minister's "description of how the process will work, and that consideration for the public servants affected has rarely been mentioned by him".
The Fine Gael TD was speaking during Finance questions in which the Minister, Mr McCreevy, said the process had been going on for more than four years, and that political parties "must make up their mind whether they are for or against decentralisation".
The Minister said that "when the decentralisation programme is in operation, and people go to the various parts of the country, there will still be thousands of civil servants left in Dublin and jobs to be filled".
He said they would not know what vacancies there would be in the Dublin offices until people relocating expressed a preference of moving out of the city. The facility available now for the decentralisation programme across the country "will be available to those who wish to remain in Dublin".