The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Séamus Brennan, has asked the Pensions Board to bring forward its statutory review of the country's pensions strategy.
The review was to be completed by September 2006, but Mr Brennan said he had asked the board to complete the review and to submit a report to him by the middle of this year.
In an address to the Irish Association of Pension Funds last night, Mr Brennan said that despite all the incentives the overall coverage figures for pensions were disappointing.
Mr Brennan expressed concern that only half of those currently working who require private pension cover have a pension scheme.
He said that 50% of those schemes were totally inadequate and that for women the pension situation was particularly serious.
