The Department of the Environment has been accused of using unauthorised outdoor billboard sites to promote its "Race Against Waste" campaign.
Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) claimed that the Department had failed to ensure that its advertisements would be restricted to sites with planning permission.
A spokesman for the group said one of the unauthorised billboards was located within the grounds of Government offices in Waterford, home city of the Minister, Mr Cullen.
Another billboard was located on the N11, between Arklow and Gorey where, apart from blighting the landscape, it would be a distraction to motorists and a traffic hazard, he said.
FIE claimed that the majority of outdoor advertising sites in the State were unauthorised because the structures had been erected or altered without the required planning permission.
"It is entirely inappropriate that any Government department or other body use such sites, especially the Department charged with defending the environment", the group said.
It called on the Department to provide a complete list of all sites used in the advertising campaign and their planning status and to remove advertising forthwith from illegal sites.
A Department spokesman said its advertising agency had been instructed to book sites with planning permission.
