The current edition of the British men's magazine Loaded has been withdrawn from newsagents' shops around the State by its distributors following an intervention by the Garda.
A spokesman for Eason & Son Ltd says the company withdrew Loaded after the Garda brought it to their attention that editions of the magazine included advertisements for "escort agencies" based in Dublin.
Unsold copies of the magazine were collected early from every newsagent supplied with them by the company.
The spokesman said Eason had not been aware of the offending advertisements until the Garda drew them to the attention of company executives.
"Obviously, we don't read every page of every magazine that we distribute," the spokesman said. He said the company's main competitor had also withdrawn the current issue of the magazine.
The May edition contained two ads for escort agencies. One advertised "beautiful top-class escorts" who offer a "call in or call out service". Another offered the opportunity to "relax in our luxury apartment with our large selection of beautiful and friendly model-like girls".
Both agencies were contact able at Irish mobile telephone numbers. One of them advertised the fact that work was available in the agency. The June edition, which has now been withdrawn, contained at least three similar advertisements.
Any person or company who publishes or distributes an advertisement for a brothel or prostitute can face fines of up to £10,000 per offence.
Publishers and distributors can defend themselves by showing an advertisement was received in the ordinary course of their business and that they did not know it related to prostitution.
In Dublin, which carried similar advertisements for several years, was banned last August for six months after the Censorship of Publications Board deemed it to have been "usually or frequently indecent or obscene".
The ban was lifted after the magazine's publisher, Mr Mike Hogan, successfully applied for a judicial review of the decision.
Mr Hogan, who has not published the advertisements since, was charged on Thursday under the Criminal Justice (Pubic Order) Act 1994 because of the ads. He faces a maximum fine of £530,000 if convicted on all 53 charges outlined in Kilmainham District Court last week.
A spokeswoman for the Censorship Board said this weekend that it had received no complaint about the Loaded ads. The board cannot move to ban a publication unless it receives a complaint from a member of the public or the Garda.
