PART V.

Road Transport.

24. — Section 7 of the Road Transport Act, 1932 , which prohibits the carrying on of a passenger road service without a passenger licence, shall not apply to the Board.

25. —(1) The Board shall not, without the consent of the Minister, initiate any passenger road service or alter any passenger road service for the time being operated by it so as to compete with a licensed passenger road service.

(2) If any question arises whether any existing or proposed service or alteration does or would so compete the question shall be referred to the Minister whose decision shall be final.

(3) The Board shall comply with such directions as may be given to it by the Minister for the purposes of this section.

26. —(1) This section applies to:—

(a) a vehicle being used by an authorised (merchandise carrying) company for the purposes of its business, and

(b) a vehicle being used for the distribution of Sunday newspapers under a merchandise licence restricted to that purpose.

(2) Notwithstanding section 34 of the Road Transport Act, 1933 , a vehicle to which this section applies shall not be required to carry a vehicle plate and no plate shall be issued in respect of such vehicle.

27. —(1) Notwithstanding section 9 of the Road Transport Act, 1933 , a person whose only or chief occupation is farming may, without being the holder of a merchandise licence, carry for reward in a vehicle drawn by an agricultural tractor owned by him, and in respect of which a duty of excise at the rate specified in subparagraph (c) of paragraph 4 of Part I of the Schedule to the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952 , is chargeable, livestock owned by a person resident not more than two miles from the carrier's residence if the livestock are being carried to or from a farm from or to a livestock auction mart or a place where a market or fair, specified by order made by the Minister under this section, is held, on the day on which such auction, market or fair takes place and they are not being carried in either direction on any part of a public road which is more than twenty miles by public road from the carrier's residence.

(2) The Minister may, by order, specify markets and fairs for the purposes of this section.

(3) The Minister may, by order, revoke or amend an order under this section.

28. —(1) Where a person is convicted of an offence under section 9 of the Road Transport Act, 1933 , the fine to be imposed by the court in respect of a second offence committed by him within five years after the commission of the first shall be not less than ten pounds and the fine in respect of each subsequent offence committed by him within any period of five years shall be not less than twice the minimum fine prescribed by this section in respect of the immediately preceding offence, subject to a maximum fine of three hundred and twenty pounds in lieu of the maximum fine specified in the said section 9.

(2) The Court, in addition to the fine, may order any mechanically propelled vehicle or vehicles by means of which the second or subsequent offence was committed to be forfeited.

(3) Any mechanically propelled vehicles so ordered to be forfeited shall be disposed of in such manner as the Minister may direct and all moneys arising from such disposal shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall direct.

(4) Subsection (1) of section 1 of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1907, shall not apply in relation to such second or subsequent offences.

29. —(1) Section 7 of the Road Transport Act, 1935 , which restricts the importation of laden lorries and tractors drawing laden trailers, is hereby amended by the deletion of paragraph (b) of subsection (1), to the intent that the section shall apply likewise to unladen lorries and tractors.

(2) The section shall not apply to the importation of lorries and tractors by any person in the course of his trade in lorries and tractors as such.