The Northern electorate is still firmly behind devolution at Stormont, an opinion poll has found.
Findings published by the Belfast Telegraph yesterday from research carried out by Queen's University, Belfast pointed to 2-1 support for devolved government.
However, Protestant opinion is evenly divided on the subject while Catholics are still very much in favour. Some 49 per cent of Protestants favoured devolution while 47 per cent preferred direct rule. Catholic opinion stood at 84 per cent in favour.
These findings mirror results published yesterday which pointed to growing Protestant disillusionment with the political process but which also indicated that nearly two-thirds of them still wanted the Belfast Agreement to work.
These findings show that Protestants, unlike their Catholic counterparts, are at best lukewarm on the idea of devolved powers.
Despite this, equal percentages favour retention of the arrangements for sharing the two top posts at Stormont. The poll found that the most popular combination of First Minister and Deputy First Minister was an arrangement between the UUP and the SDLP. Some 44 per cent of both Protestants and Catholics preferred this option.
Respondents were asked which combination of First and Deputy First Minister would provide the greatest stability. The UUP-SDLP option was the clear favourite.
Interestingly, the DUP-Sinn Féin option was the least favoured (just 2 per cent) despite the clear evidence that both the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP are facing stiff electoral challenges from the DUP and Sinn Féin respectively.
Yesterday's findings illustrated that both the DUP and Sinn Féin were closing the gap on their respective rivals and it remained a possibility that these two parties could be the majority party in both camps in any restored Assembly after a May 1st election and therefore in a position to claim the First and Deputy First Minsters' posts.
There is further evidence to support the contention that Northerners have a deep desire for political stability. Fifty-three per cent said it was either "desirable" or "essential" that the Belfast Agreement be modified to ensure its continuation and there was overwhelming support (87 per cent) for the setting up of an Assembly committee to monitor the management of community relations, equality and human rights.
The two governments will also draw comfort from the finding which illustrates the level of desire for full implementation of the agreement.
A substantial 72 per cent of those asked viewed full implementation of all aspects of the Belfast Agreement as either "essential", "desirable" or "acceptable". Another 11 per cent could find this "tolerable" and a resolute 16 per cent remain opposed to implementation.
A 72 per cent majority of respondents also wanted the two governments and all the parties to the conflict "to make an honest and full accounting of any past misdeeds and abuses".
A larger majority wanted them to co-operate with all relevant public inquiries.
However, more than one-third of Protestants found it "unacceptable" to complete the current reform of policing.