Section 6: Power of Department to give directions to certain bodies
Provides a power for the Department to give directions (either general or specific) to the Regional Health and Social Care Board, Regional Agency for Public Health and Social Well-being and Regional Business Services Organisation as to how they should carry out their functions. The Department is also required to consult with those bodies before issuing directions but the section also provides the Department with the power to give directions without consulting in cases where the urgency of the matter necessitates it but requires the Department in cases where the duty to consult has been set aside because of the urgency of the matter, to report retrospectively to all appropriate bodies or persons as to its reason for taking this course of action.