Mobile phone users under the age of 18 should not be able to access adult services from early next year, the State's biggest mobile company said yesterday.
Vodafone Ireland said it would implement an age verification and access control mechanism that would prevent young people from viewing pornographic, gambling, chat and dating services.
A Vodafone Ireland spokeswoman said the company had set up a group to map out a content control project and the system should be in place early next year.
A similar system was introduced by Vodafone's sister firm in Britain yesterday, which will require any users over the age of 18 to register for adult services.
Anyone wishing to register for adult services will have to provide proof to the mobile phone operator that they are over 18.
Vodafone UK is the first British mobile phone operator to launch a content control system, which works by filtering and barring adult content from users.
The company also employs human moderators to check that people using Vodafone's chat rooms are not exchanging inappropriate information.
Fears about children accessing pornography have become a cause for concern in the Republic following incidents involving camera phones. And a new generation of handset, which uses a new technology called 3G, is due to be launched in the autumn, potentially offering access to a range of pornographic services.
The Minister for Communications, Mr Dermot Ahern, recently announced plans to force mobile phone firms to make all their subscribers to 3G register their ages and names.
Vodafone Ireland is the State's biggest mobile operator with about 1.8 million subscribers.
It is understood that O2 Ireland is also working on initiatives to prevent children from accessing adult sites.