The cost of policing the millennium celebrations in Northern Ireland was £2.5m.

The money is to come from the Royal Ulster Constabulary's existing budget.

Chief Constable of the RUC, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, told a meeting of the Northern Ireland Police Authority that the extra resources were vital in securing "a relatively peaceful millennium".

A statement issued by the authority on Friday said the extra patrolling resulted in lower than expected crime levels.

It said: "Even with the huge number of extra revellers, the number of offences committed in Belfast, for example, was in fact no higher than normal weekend levels."

The authority added that Sir Ronnie assured it that the cost of the operations would be met from within existing budgets.

Millennium celebrations were held across Northern Ireland.

Almost 40,000 people crowded into Belfast City Centre to celebrate the turning of the century.

In Londonderry the celebrations attended by around 15,000 started on a high note with the singing of the world famous Danny Boy.

Nobel peace prize winner and leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, John Hume, was among the 2,000 singers in the city's Guildhall Square as the party and fireworks to greet the new year got under way.

There were also major celebrations in the County Down towns of Bangor, Lisburn and Newry.

County Armagh

In Craigavon, nearly 20,000 revellers gathered at the Watersports' Centre on the British Isle's largest lake, Lough Neagh, for a waterside fireworks display.

Such was the party fever which gripped Northern Ireland that all leave for ambulance crews was cancelled for the first time in history.

But after the big night, the Royal Ulster Constabulary reported that the celebrations had been trouble-free.