Vodafone Ireland will launch a new all-Ireland mobile service today to eliminate roaming costs for calls made and received while travelling in Northern Ireland.

The new service, which was first promised by Vodafone last year, will only be available to contract subscribers and will cost up to €5 per month to sign up for.

The Minister for Communications, Mr Dermot Ahern, who has consistently called for the introduction of an all-Ireland tariff, criticised the service yesterday as too restrictive and expensive. A spokesman said the Minister believed mobile phone firms should offer a flat-rate service throughout the island with no sign-up charges. He said the all-island rates should also be available for pre-pay users, who make up the vast majority of Vodafone's 1.8 million users.