According to the latest quarterly figures from the Pensions Board, 119,862 PRSAs have been taken out since the product became available in September 2003, when the Government tried bring more workers - especially those without access to an employee pension scheme - under the private pensions umbrella.

But the percentage of pension holders has barely budged since then, with only 53% of Irish people covered - up from around 50% four years ago.

"I don't think anyone would argue PRSAs have achieved what the Government set out to achieve, " said Jerry Moriarty, director of policy at the Irish Association of Pension Funds. "The numbers are good, but relatively low. The expectation was for hundreds of thousands."

The IAPF has complained PRSA numbers are being inflated by high net worth individuals who would otherwise gravitate towards other investment products, but are attracted to the tax-exempt approved retirement funds allowed under PRSAs but not defined contribution occupational pensions.

Despite increases in the figures, PRSAs are still seriously challenged in the market place, as many investment brokers refuse to sell them because of low commissions.

EBS building society stopped offering PRSAs this autumn after admitting customer takeup had been disappointing.

"You have to remember, at the same time PRSAs came out, so did SSIAs, " said David Malone, head of information services at the Pensions Board. "Those 1.2m [SSIA] accounts showed a good savings culture. We're seeing slow, steady growth in PRSAs."