(1) In this section -

"industrial development agency" means the Industrial Development Authority, Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited or Údarás na Gaeltachta;

"new" means unused and not secondhand, but a ship shall be deemed to be new even if it has been used or is secondhand.

(2) Subject to the Tax Acts, where -

(a) a person carrying on a trade, the profits or gains of which are chargeable under Case I of Schedule D, incurs capital expenditure on the provision for the purposes of the trade of new machinery or new plant, other than vehicles suitable for the conveyance by road of persons or goods or the haulage by road of other vehicles,

(b) that machinery or plant is machinery or plant to which subsection (4) or (5) applies, and

(c) that machinery or plant while used for the purposes of that trade is wholly and exclusively so used,

there shall be made to such person for the chargeable period related to the expenditure an allowance (in this Chapter referred to as an "initial allowance").

(3) An initial allowance shall be of an amount equal to -

(a) in the case of machinery or plant to which subsection (4) applies, 100 per cent of the capital expenditure mentioned in subsection (2), or