Three Ireland has come under serious fire today after one of its billboards has been widely criticised.

The billboard reads, “Sorry Vodafone customers It turned out he was a she after you’d used all your data.”

Three Ireland have since apologised for the billboard, stating that they never meant to cause offence. The network explained that the ad is "part of a wider campaign that gives examples of when you can often miss the best bits of TV/films when you're streaming because you've used all your data."

Three highlighted other examples in of their campaign, such as "Sorry Vodafone customers, Ireland scored the winning try after you'd used all your data." 

Twitter has exploded in response with many people viewing the slogan as offensive and insensitive while other people have defended it saying that it is simply implying that by using all your data can miss the crucial ending of movies. 

This ad seems pretty transphobic @ThreeCare. Care to eleborate? pic.twitter.com/wvlHVHZPgU

— TENI (@TENI_Tweets) July 15, 2015

@laineydoyle @TENI_Tweets @ThreeCare I can get the idea behind the ad, but very poorly executed. And I say that as a trans* person.

— Robyn Morton (@robyntmorton) July 15, 2015

Meanwhile, other people stressed that the billboard did not intend to cause offence. 

@BabyMonsterGoon @MrSeamusKearney What am I missing if I didn't see it as transphobic. "As You Like It" plot has a woman dressed as a man.

— John Hamill (@JohnHamill151) July 15, 2015

The controversy comes the same day that the Gender Recognition Bill passed through the Oireachtas. Ireland is now the fourth country in the world to specifically introduce legislation allowing trans people to legally change their gender.