North feels budget was less than generous

There has been a mixed welcome for the British budget in the North with many politicians feeling it did not go far enough to help the local economy.

Northern Ireland is to receive an additional £64 million sterling (€100 million) to its £5.7 billion annual budget allocation from the British Treasury, £55 million of which will go to the Northern Ireland Executive over the next three years with £9 million allocated to the Northern Ireland Office for anti-drugs initiatives. The Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, said the extra funds would deliver "tangible benefits to almost every household and business" in the North.

Most of Northern Ireland's budget allocation is distributed by the North's finance minister, Mr Mark Durkan, in his own budget. Mr Durkan does not have any tax or duty raising powers, his only way of raising income being local rates.

Last night, the Minister welcomed the extra £55 million allocated to him over the next three years saying he would decide carefully on how to distribute the funds. The First and Deputy First Ministers, Mr David Trimble and Mr Seamus Mallon, welcomed the new spending and tax measures announced by Mr Brown. Mr Mallon said he was particularly pleased about the support for families through the children's tax credit, the working families tax credit and a package of new measures on maternity pay and parental leave.

While giving a cautious welcome to an extra £20.4 million allocated to the North's schools, Ulster Unionist MP, Mr Roy Beggs, said the increase would "not have a sufficient impact" to tackle the underfunding of many schools in the North.

The UUP treasury spokesman, Mr William Ross MP, described the budget as a "set of announcements made with the general election very much in mind". The Sinn Fein vice president,Mr Pat Doherty, said the budget contained "no big ideas but plenty of tinkering around the edges".