Northern Ireland is to get an extra £370m (€422m) as a result of the UK budget announcement at Westminster, but its impact will be limited, it has been claimed.
It will be available over the next three to four years, with £240m for day-to-day spending and £130 for investment.
It is as a result of what is known as a Barnett consequential, a funding formula for devolved administrations used to mirror public spending commitments in Britain.
However, Stormont has an in-year overspend of £400m this year, and the Finance Minister John O'Dowd has said the extra cash will have little impact.
Northern Secretary Hilary Benn said the extra money in the budget came on top of the biggest financial settlement for Northern Ireland since devolution and an additional £1.7bn over the past two years.
"Northern Ireland, like any other government, is going to have to live within its means, and it needs to produce a balanced budget.
"And if wants more funds it can seek to raise them."
That refers to revenue raising ideas that have been floated in Northern Ireland, including the introduction of domestic water charges and prescription charges.
Water charges have been ruled out several times by ministers.
Mr O'Dowd said the increased money coming to Northern Ireland through the budget would not lead to investment in public services.
"While additional funding for public services is welcome, the reality is stark: following today's announcements, we will only receive £18.8 million in additional funding this financial year.
"This falls far short of what is needed to support the delivery of front-line public services.
The British government has also promised money to the Stormont Executive to follow the Labour government's lead and abolish the two-child benefit cap in Northern Ireland.
It is believed that 50,000 families in Northern Ireland could benefit.
Mr Benn said 170,000 people in Northern Ireland would benefit from increases to minimum wage levels.
Ulster Unionist MP Robin Swann said the budget announcement contained "fundamental shortcomings" that would put extra strain on workers and rural communities.
He said the £370m extra for Stormont would not "touch the sides" of its existing deficit.
And he said the failure of the Labour government to address farm family concerns over changes to inheritance tax meant they had been "abandoned".
Business leaders said budget measures left the "tax burden" for small enterprises at a record high, and the sector needed to see pro-growth policies.
Retailers said the budget was a "missed opportunity" to stimulate economic growth, and that increases to the national minimum wage and national living wage were a "heavy blow".
The Northern Ireland Chamber said the budget fell short on "bold incentives" to drive growth.
It welcomed £16m for a support service to help businesses deal with the costs of post-Brexit trading with Britain.
But it said more needed to be done to address regulatory divergence and customs barriers that continued to constrain trade.
