Mr Robinson's draft Budget and the Executive's Programme for Government made a raft of promises - including a pledge to create 6,500 new jobs within four years.

Ministers also said three-quarters of those jobs will get better than average pay.

And they promised to attract half a million new tourists every year, predicting that the visitors will drop an additional £150m while they're here.

Mr Robinson announced the freeze on the regional rate during his Budget speech to a special sitting of the Assembly yesterday afternoon.

He said the freeze - which does not prevent councils from hiking their portion of the rate - would give " much-needed relief to every rate payer".

The minister said he was making the proposal because of the big increases made by Direct Rule Ministers - 62% in the past five years - and the forthcoming addition of water charges to the rates bill.

"We need to ensure that each household sees the full benefit of this in their rates bills over the next three years as we introduce the new arrangements for increased contributions from households towards the cost of water," he said.

"If we also were to introduce parallel increases to regional rates bills, no matter how small, at the same time as we are phasing in the new water arrangements, we would be seen as giving with one hand and talking away with the other."

Mr Robinson told MLAs that the Budget's " primary focus on economic growth is an indication of our long-term commitment to build a better future for the people of Northern Ireland."

"This is the first budget of the new era; it must lay the foundations for a better future for everyone in Northern Ireland," he said.

The Executive's plans reheated some proposals that were already in place - such as a European requirement to cut landfill use.

But they introduced a wide range of new measures, including an extension of the free transport scheme for older people and pledges to cut cancer deaths through better screening.

But the main thrust of the spending plans is to cut dependence on the public sector at the same time as improving the climate for private sector growth.

To help attract investment, the Executive says planning applications for major developments will be dealt with in six months, not including a pre-application process.

It also wants to upgrade the broadband network and establish special telecommunications with America and Europe.

Ministers are also proposing a programme of road building.

But Mr Robinson indicated that he is still intent on trimming the public sector. He says he will announce targets for civil service job cuts over the next three years and force efficiency savings through all departments.

"I want to serve notice to this Assembly and to the wider community that I am determined to take the drive for greater efficiency in public services to a new level," he said.

"I am simply not prepared to stand back and leave unchallenged the countless instances, large and small, across all our public bodies where taxpayers' money is being wasted in over-staffing, absenteeism, poor working practices and a resistance to radical change in the way we go about delivering services."

He added: "This Executive intends to squeeze value out of every pound spent.

"That means cutting out waste; it means getting more for the same or less, it means doing things differently - and better; it means challenging the worth of staid programmes; it means testing the way things are done and it means reforming the public sector so that it delivers services of a kind and in a manner that people deserve."