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Mr McGuinness has also played down suggestions that his party is refusing to bring forward cost-cutting measures.

Chancellor George Osbourne could slash Stormont public expenditure by 20%-25% when he announces the details of his Spending Review next month.

Earlier this week, First Minister Peter Robinson warned all parties not to play politics with the forthcoming £2bn cuts, urging ministers to set aside departmental interests to face the tough economic challenges ahead.

But reports claimed Sinn Féin ministers would not submit proposals for cuts to DUP Finance Minister Sammy Wilson.

Sinn Féin Economy Spokesperson Mitchel McLaughlin said cuts should be "resisted".

"Any cuts proposed or imposed by the British Government must be challenged and resisted. We should not accept the inevitability of cuts. We should focus our minds on challenging them", Mr McLaughlin said on Wednesday.

"We need to enter into a negotiation with the British Government to resist cuts and secure proper control of the economic levers which will allow us to map a way out of the current recession".

Mr McGuinness later denied that Sinn Féin and the DUP were at loggerheads over the issue.

He insisted there was much agreement between him and Mr Robinson on the economy.

"We have sought a meeting with David Cameron and we are going to fight this. We obviously think that cuts like these, which are being proposed by the British Government, are going to be very damaging for us particularly, as we are a new Executive and because this society we lead is emerging from conflict," he explained.

However, NI Secretary Owen Paterson is adamant Northern Ireland must now live within its means.

"We cannot go on borrowing one in four pounds we spend and I'm afraid every public service is going to have to deliver to the public more efficiently and the public services in NI will be no exception", Mr Paterson told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster.

Mr Robinson has already warned the cuts will have a "devastating impact" on the region's economic recovery.

"The economy is bound to suffer with cuts. You cannot take out a quarter of your budget without it having a significant impact", he told UTV.

"That means we have to up our game and work harder to encourage investment into NI and to encourage people to improve their skills and provide a more attractive base for investment."

The CBI - the UK's top business lobbying organisation - also believes the cutbacks may present certain opportunities.

"It may mean we may have to raise some additional taxes or charges. Householders in Northern Ireland contribute the least of any region in the UK. When we look at it, there is a massive amount of duplication and waste across the public sector which we do not believe is sustainable and now is the opportunity to address that."

The UK Government will unveil its Spending Review - the most ambitious cuts plan in more than 50 years, on 20 October.

© UTV News