Support for the Belfast Agreement amongst the Protestant community in Northern Ireland has slipped to an all-time low, according to a poll published on this afternoon.
Just 62 per cent of all voters in Northern Ireland said they would back the deal now, with Protestants saying they would vote "no" by a near two-to-one majority, a Belfast Telegraphpoll has found.
In the May 1996 referendum on the agreement, it was backed by 71 per cent voters.
Support for the agreement peaked among unionists in May 2000 after the IRA announced it was willing to decommission its weapons.
Today's poll, conducted by Queen's University, Belfast, and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, showed 90 per cent of Catholics would still back the deal now but only 36 per cent of Protestants.
A separate question found 60 per cent of Protestants saying they wanted the agreement to work - down from 93 percent four years ago.
The poll showed trust in both the British and Irish governments and local parties had fallen sharply as a result of the current impasse in the peace process.
It also showed both communities blaming the crisis on the other - 82 per cent of Catholics blamed unionists for the collapse of the assembly, while 73 per cent of Protestants pinned the blame on republicans.
The Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble said that while the poll indicated an "understandable" dissatisfaction with the way the accord has been implemented, there is still a majority that want it to work.
Anti-Agreement MP, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson said: "The Government needs to know that more concessions to republicans will result in further alienation of unionists."
Additional reporting Reuters
