THE Stormont executive has been accused of being "terrified of scrutiny" after giving opposition parties an hour to assess a £175m reallocation of government funds.
Finance minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir announced the redistribution on Tuesday from the central pot to executive departments as part of the June 'monitoring round'.
The package sees the health service boosted by an additional £72m to help deal with waiting lists and other pressures.
The Department of Education will be given an extra £30m and £28m will be diverted to the Department for Infrastructure.
An extra £20m will also be spent on developing workforce skills, primarily through the further education sector.
The extra cash for health brings to £200m the additional funds diverted to the service above what was originally agreed in the annual executive budget.
No departments will face cuts in the monitoring round, as the central pot is in ruder health than anticipated when the budget was struck.
However, assembly parties outside the DUP and Sinn Féin-led executive criticised how the funding was announced.
The SDLP's Claire Hanna, deputy chair of the finance committee, said the assembly was given less than an hour to scrutinise a 37-page document.
"The finance minister said that this was all part of new streamlined government. The SDLP has repeatedly proposed reform of the budgetary process but this can't come at the expense of transparency and accountability," she said.
Ms Hanna also criticised funding allocated to the first and deputy first ministers' office "while offering schools not even enough to address a looming financial crisis".
Philip Smith, the UUP's finance spokesman, also accused the executive of lacking transparency.
He said that "in a major break from previous custom", none of assembly scrutiny committees had been properly briefed ahead of the announcement.
"Whilst previously the assembly would have been informed in advance of what allocations were being made, they would have also been informed what bids departments had made. This time, in the latest statement, departmental bids were noticeably absent," he said.
"These actions are indicative of an executive terrified of any budgetary scrutiny."
Around £56m was carried over from the last financial year. Not as much welfare mitigation spending is required in 2016/17 as originally forecast, and departments have also begun to realise savings as a consequence of the civil service voluntary exit scheme.
Of the £175m, £35m will be spent on capital projects, including almost £23 million for flood prevention measures, road maintenance and investment in Waterways Ireland.
Mr Ó Muilleoir said the monitoring round, which was agreed earlier than in any previous years, shows a determination by the executive to deliver a "fresh start".
"Despite huge pressures on budgets as a result of the Westminster austerity agenda, we have managed to bring forward a monitoring round which does not contain cuts. The allocations made in this monitoring round will deliver positive outcomes by supporting funding for key public services," he said.
The Sinn Féín minister added: "This monitoring round demonstrates what can be achieved by working together, in spite of the financial constraints, and I will continue to make best endeavours to prevent the least well-off from shouldering this burden."
