A hard-headed approach to fiscal management will be a key element to his approach to spending, the Minister of Finance and Personnel, Mr Mark Durkan, told the Northern Ireland Assembly when he presented his first £9 billion Budget yesterday.
The Northern Ireland Budget has increased by £390 million from £8.598 billion last year to £8.878 billion for the financial year 2000/2001.
The North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, the Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, and the Executive approved the proposals. The 108-member Assembly will scrutinise the Budget before voting on it next year.
There was a noticeable absence of any rancour between the Ulster Unionist Party, the SDLP, the DUP and Sinn Fein ministers over the allocations. This chiefly was because Mr Durkan was already locked into a Budget previously prepared by Northern Ireland Office ministers before power was devolved to the Assembly.
There was some discretion in the distribution of £5 billion of the Budget. Much of the remaining £4 billion was already earmarked for social security payments. The highest allocations - more than £3 billion - went to departments run by the Sinn Fein ministers.
The biggest spending office is Ms Bairbre de Brun's Health, Social Services and Public Safety Department, which receives £2.029 billion, up £86 million from the previous year.
The Education Department of Sinn Fein's Mr Martin McGuinness is allocated £1.243 billion, up £83 million. The Higher and Further Education and Training and Employment Department run by Mr Sean Farren (SDLP) gets an increase of £12 million to a total of £527 million.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment under the control of Sir Reg Empey (UUP) sees a drop in its budget from £302 million last year to £288 million.
The budget of the Minister of Regional Development, Mr Peter Robinson (DUP), who is charged with building up the North's infrastructure, rises by £36 million to £403 million. His party colleague, Mr Nigel Dodds, who has the Social Development portfolio, sees a drop in his allocation from £435 million to £416 million.
The allocation for Ms Brid Rodgers, the SDLP Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, drops by £4 million to £167 million. Here, however, when the Common Agriculture Policy budget is added on, the overall budget rises to £325 million.
The Culture, Arts and Leisure Department run by Mr Michael McGimpsey of the UUP won a modest increase of £1 million to £64 million. Mr Sam Foster, the UUP Minister for the Environment, saw his allocation increase by £2 million to £84 million.
It will cost £38 million to run the Assembly next year compared to £17 million this year. The budget of the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister increases by £1 million to £27 million. Mr Durkan's departmental budget is reduced from £108 million to £104 million.
Mr Durkan said that the Executive ministers and the Assembly members should dedicate themselves over the coming months to preparing their own programme for government that "will truly reflect the hopes and aspirations of all the people in Northern Ireland".
He said his department would fully co-operate with the other departments. "We will not be high-handed but we will be hard-headed. Quality and equality will be the key note in any negotiations," said Mr Durkan.
