(1) In this section ¾

}minimum penalty~ means a penalty provided for or in relation to an offence that is expressed to be a minimum penalty (including a minimum period of disqualification from holding or obtaining a driver's licence), whether by use of the expression }minimum penalty~ or }not less than~ or by any other like expression.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), a minimum penalty in this Act is irreducible in mitigation despite the Sentencing Act 1995 and the Young Offenders Act 1994.

(3) Despite subsection (2) and Part 5 of the Sentencing Act 1995, a court sentencing a person who has been convicted of ¾

(a) a first or second offence against section 63 or 67; or

(b) an offence against 64 or 67A,

may, instead of imposing a fine ¾

(c) order the release of the offender and impose a community based order under Part 9 of the Sentencing Act 1995 with at least the community service requirement as a primary requirement of the order; or

(d) if the offender is a young person under the Young Offenders Act 1994, subject to sections 50, 50A and 50B of that Act, make a youth community based order under that Act imposing at least community work conditions on the offender.

(4) If a court deals with a person under subsection (3), it must also disqualify the offender from holding or obtaining a driver's licence for a period not less than the minimum period provided in relation to the offence concerned.

[Section 106 inserted by No. 78 of 1995 s.116.]