Almost seven out of 10 Catholics believe that the Provisional IRA and loyalist paramilitaries should start decommissioning now, according to an opinion poll in the Belfast Telegraph.
However, the poll also showed that most Catholics think Sinn Fein should be allowed into the power-sharing executive without a prior handover of weapons.
A total of 1,100 people were interviewed for the poll and 84 per cent of respondents - 93 per cent of Protestants and 68 per cent of Catholics - wanted the paramilitaries to decommission now. A further 11 per cent of the total polled demanded decommissioning by May 2000.
Seventy per cent of SDLP supporters supported an immediate arms handover, as did 58 per cent of Sinn Fein voters, only 12 per cent of whom said they thought weapons should never be decommissioned.
Sixty per cent of those polled said that Sinn Fein should not be allowed to take its seats on the executive without IRA decommissioning. A total of 29 per cent believed that the party should be in government regardless, while 11 per cent did not know.
While 85 per cent of Protestants said that there would have to be an arms handover before Sinn Fein's entry to the executive, only 22 per cent of Catholics took this position - 63 per cent said that the party should be included regardless of decommissioning. Only 7 per cent of Protestants were prepared to allow Sinn Fein into government without decommissioning as a precondition.
Sir Reg Empey, Ulster Unionist Assembly member, said that the poll showed the support for decommissioning in the community. "Neither the IRA nor loyalist paramilitaries can ignore the overwhelming public support for David Trimble's policy regarding decommissioning. It should start now."
The Sinn Fein chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, dismissed the poll, saying that an overwhelming majority had voted for the Belfast Agreement, which should be fully implemented.