The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Seamus Brennan, said he had not ruled out the introduction of mandatory private pension schemes.
"I have stated a few times that it is important not to shy away from considering the mandatory or quasi-mandatory systems. I am determined to shine the light on them and examine them closely to determine whether we can afford them," he said.
"More important, we should determine whether we can afford not to have them, given that over half the population, including 500,000 working women, do not have occupational pensions. It is incumbent on us to take some action."
Mr Brennan told Fine Gael spokesman David Stanton that he was determined to publish a Green Paper on the issue before next year's general election.
The Minister said it was not an easy area and mandatory pension contributions could be misinterpreted as more taxation. However, saying that was like saying that PRSI contributions should not have been made mandatory.
"PRSI contributions are mandatory and nobody in the country would put his hand up and ask that they be made voluntary. I am determined to keep the option of mandatory and quasi-mandatory pensions on the table as we engage in the Green Paper process. Meanwhile, we will consider other proposals, for example the suggestion by the Pensions Board that we should have an SSIA-type system rather than tax reliefs."
Mr Stanton said it was time for concrete proposals from the Government, given that there had been many discussions, debates and reports but no action.
He asked if it was correct that 53 per cent of Irish women had no private pension coverage, while 43 per cent of men had none.
Mr Brennan said he understood the figures were correct.
