(1) In this section―

["approved institution" means―

(a) an institution of higher education within the meaning of section 1 of the Higher Education Authority Act, 1971, or

(b) an institution in the State in receipt of public funding which provides courses to which a scheme approved by the Minister for Education and Science under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts, 1968 to 1992, [applies, or]¹

[(c) any body engaged in the provision of third level health and social services education or training which is approved by the Minister for Health and Children for the purposes of this section and is in receipt of public funding in respect of the provision of such education or training;]²]³

"qualifying expenditure" means capital expenditure incurred on―

(a) the construction of a qualifying premises, or

(b) the provision of machinery or plant,

[which―

(i) in the case of an institution referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition of "approved institution", is, following the receipt of the advice of An tÚdarás, approved for that purpose by the Minister for Education and Science with the consent of the Minister for Finance, and

(ii) in the case of a body referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of "approved institution", is approved for that purpose by the Minister for Health and Children with the consent of the Minister for Finance;]⁴

["qualifying period" means the period commencing on 1 July 1997 and ending on [31 December 2006 or, where subsection (1A) applies, ending on 31 July 2008]⁵;]⁶

"qualifying premises" means a building or structure which―

(a) apart from this section is not an industrial building or structure within the meaning of section 268, and

(b)(i) is in use for the purposes of third level education [or associated sporting or leisure activities]⁷ provided by an approved institution,

[(ii) is let to an approved institution,]⁸

but does not include any part of a building or structure in use as or as part of a dwelling-house;

"An tÚdarás" means the Body established by section 2 of the Higher Education Authority Act, 1971.

(1A) This subsection shall apply in relation to the construction of a qualifying premises where―

(a) the person who is constructing the qualifying premises has, on or before 31 December 2006, carried out work to the value of not less than 15 per cent of the actual construction costs of the qualifying premises, and

(b) the person referred to in paragraph (a) or, where the qualifying premises is sold by that person, the person who is claiming a deduction under Part 9 in relation to the expenditure incurred, can show that the condition in paragraph (a) was satisfied.

(2) [Subject to subsections (2A) to (7) and (as inserted by the Finance Act 2006) and sections 270(4), 270(5), 270(6) and 316(2B)]¹, the provisions of the Tax Acts (other than section 317(2)) relating to the making of allowances or charges in respect of capital expenditure incurred on the construction of an industrial building or structure shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in those provisions, apply in relation to qualifying expenditure on a qualifying premises―

(a) as if the qualifying premises were, at all times at which it is a qualifying premises, a building or structure in respect of which an allowance is to be made for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under Part 9 by reason of its use for a purpose specified in section 268(1)(a), and

(b) where any activity carried on in the qualifying premises is not a trade, as if it were a trade.

(2A) An allowance shall be given by virtue of subsection (2) in relation to any qualifying expenditure on a qualifying premises only in so far as that expenditure is incurred in the qualifying period.

(3) In relation to qualifying expenditure [incurred in the qualifying period]¹ on a qualifying premises section 272 shall apply as if―

(a) in subsection (3)(a)(ii) of that section the reference to 4 per cent were a reference to 15 per cent, and

(b) in subsection (4)(a)(ii) of that section the reference to 25 years were a reference to 7 years.

(4) No allowance shall be made under subsection (2) unless, before the commencement of construction of a qualifying premises, [or, in the case of the construction of a qualifying premises which consists of a building or structure which is to be used for the purposes of sporting or leisure activities associated with third level education provided by an approved institution where in relation to that premises an application for certification under this subsection was made, and the construction of that premises commenced, prior to 15 February 2001, before 1 July 2001,]¹ the Minister for Finance certifies that―

(a) an approved institution has procured or otherwise secured a sum of money, none of which has been met directly or indirectly by the State, which sum is not less than 50 per cent of the qualifying expenditure to be incurred on the qualifying premises, and

(b) such sum is to be used solely by the approved institution for the following purposes―

(i) paying interest on money borrowed for the purpose of funding the construction of the qualifying premises,

(ii) paying any rent on the qualifying premises during such times as the qualifying premises is the subject of a letting on such terms as are referred to in paragraph (b)(ii) of the definition of "qualifying premises", and

(iii) purchasing the qualifying premises following the termination of the letting referred to in subparagraph (ii).

(5) Notwithstanding section 274(1), no balancing charge shall be made in relation to a qualifying premises by reason of any of the events specified in that section which occurs more than 7 years after the qualifying premises was first used.

(6) This section shall come into operation on the 1st day of July, 1997.

(7) The Minister for Finance may not give a certificate under subsection (4) unless an application for certification was made before 1 January 2005.

(8) Notwithstanding the powers conferred and duties imposed―

(a) on the Minister for Education and Science and the Minister for Finance to approve or give consent to the approval of, respectively, certain capital expenditure by virtue of [paragraph (i) of the definition of "qualifying expenditure"]¹ in subsection (1), and

(b) [in so far as that expenditure is concerned,]² on the Minister for Finance―

(i) to certify compliance with the requirements of subsection (4), or

(ii) not to give a certificate under that subsection at any time later than a particular day by virtue of subsection (7),

the Minister for Education and Science and the Minister for Finance may, [either generally in the case of institutions referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the definition of "approved institution" or in respect of capital expenditure to be incurred on any particular type of qualifying premises to be used by any such institution]³, and subject to such conditions, if any, which they may see fit to impose, agree to delegate and may so delegate, in writing, to An tÚdarás the authority to exercise the powers and carry out the duties referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) and where these Ministers of the Government so delegate that authority[, then, as respects the matters so delegated]⁴―

[(I) the definition of "qualifying expenditure" in subsection (1) shall apply as if the reference in paragraph (i) of that definition to "is, following the receipt of the advice of An tÚdarás, approved for that purpose by the Minister for Education and Science with the consent of the Minister for Finance" were a reference to "is approved for that purpose by An tÚdarás, and"]⁵

(II) subsections (4) and (7) shall apply as if the references in those subsections to "the Minister for Finance" were references to "An tÚdarás".

(9) For the purposes only of determining, in relation to a claim for an allowance by virtue of subsection (2), whether and to what extent capital expenditure incurred on the construction of a qualifying premises is incurred or not incurred in the qualifying period, only such an amount of that capital expenditure as is properly attributable to work on the construction of the premises actually carried out during the qualifying period shall (notwithstanding any other provision of the Tax Acts as to the time when any capital expenditure is or is to be treated as incurred) be treated as having been incurred in that period.