The Stormont executive yesterday agreed Arlene Foster's final budget as finance minister but both Alliance and SDLP ministers voted against the one-year spending plan.
The 2016-17 budget will go before the assembly next month without the usual period of consultation.
The DUP and Sinn Féin hope it will gain the necessary support from MLAs and be in place by the end of January, as required under the terms of the Fresh Start agreement.
However, the executive's two smaller parties are concerned about the speed, with the SDLP claiming ministers only got sight of the proposals 12 hours before they were expected to give their backing.
Leader Colum Eastwood described it as a "deliberate attempt to disenfranchise the people we represent", while Alliance's David Ford said families have given more attention to their Christmas budget than the executive to its spending plan for next year.
The funding allocations in Mrs Foster's budget are for the nine post-reform departments rather than the current 12, and while direct comparisons with previous years are difficult, most ministries are facing a cut of between five and six per cent.
However, the new DUP leader has chosen to give special protection to health and to a lesser extent education, with the latter benefitting from £40m for schools and £5m for skills.
Health spending will rise by one per cent in real terms, while at the other end of the scale the new Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs will see a reduction of up to six per cent.
Cash has been earmarked for several major infrastructure projects, including both the A5 and A6 road improvements, a new transport hub in Belfast city centre and the Desertcreat community safety college in Co Tyrone.
A cap of 1.7 per cent will remain in place on the regional component of the rates bill, while reductions to the policing budget will be limited to two per cent.
Half of the £60m set aside in the Fresh Start deal to mitigate the impact of tax credit changes has been reallocated to other departments following last month's u-turn by Chancellor George Osborne.
The remaining £30m may be used for welfare measures, Mrs Foster said, depending on what is recommended by Eileen Evason's panel.
The finance minister said the budget had been drafted in challenging circumstances, due to the change in departments, the chancellor's recent spending review and a "severely constrained timescale".
"We now have created a stable, balanced platform for the new incoming executive to take its time in constructing a multi-year budget," she said.
"Although the outcome may prove challenging, the position is significantly better than previously anticipated."
Sinn Féin also welcomed the budget but it drew criticism from the SDLP and Alliance.
Mr Eastwood said it was "agreed on the nod" just 20 minutes after the final draft was received by ministers.
He said in the absence of an executive consultation his party would conduct its own.
"Far from opposing austerity or making the most of the more limited devolution powers that we now have following the disastrous trade off on welfare, this budget treats families across Northern Ireland with contempt," the SDLP leader said.
Alliance leader David Ford claimed the budget was "bereft of strategic planning", failing to address areas of waste, and ignoring revenue raising measures.
"At a time when we should be investing in skills, and before last year's cuts have even taken full effect, the skills budget is being cut still further," he said.
"While we accept that the timetable for producing today's budget was tight, there was no justification for rushing the budget within hours."
