(1) The National Social Service Board Act, 1984 is hereby amended by -

(a) the substitution in section 4 (as amended by the National Social Service Board Regulations, 1988 (S.I. No. 19 of 1988)) for subsection (1) of the following subsection:

"(1) The functions of the Board shall be -

(a) to advise the Minister and keep him or her informed on the development of social services generally,

(b) whenever the Minister so requests to advise him or her and keep him or her informed on such social services generally, or aspects or branches thereof, as he or she may specify,

(c) to support, promote and develop the provision of impartial information on the impact of social policy for Government and to service providers in order to highlight issues of concern to users of social services and to contribute to the planning and delivery of these services,

(d) to promote greater accessibility, co-ordination and public awareness of social services and of information, advice and advocacy services delivered for those purposes by both the statutory and voluntary sectors,

(e) to promote and support the development of independent information, advice and advocacy services throughout the country to ensure that all citizens have access to accurate, comprehensive and clear information to enable them to avail of the full range of social services,

(f) to promote and support the development of the independent voluntary social services sector,