Vol. 512 No. 1
52 Mr. Coveney asked the Minister for Education and Science the discussions, if any, he has had with property owners in relation to the releasing of suitable property for student accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25419/99]
I am conscious of the serious supply pressure which exists in relation to student accommodation and, while I have had no discussions with property owners in relation to releasing property for this purpose, I would draw the Deputy's attention to the provisions of section 50 of the Finance Act, 1999. Section 50 was introduced specifically to relieve some of this pressure by providing a scheme of tax relief for the provision of rented residential accommodation in the third level sector.
For the purposes of the scheme, properties qualifying for relief are areas approved by an eligible educational institution which are either on-campus or within an 8km radius of the main campus. A number of developers have made initial inquiries or submitted applications to educational institutions in respect of developments and to date four such applications have received approval from the educational institutions concerned. As relief will be available under the legislation for expenditure incurred up to 31 March 2003, the opportunity exists to create significant additional accommodation for third level students.
