Ar an gcéad dul síos, gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus na Seanadóirí as an gcuireadh a thabhairt dúinn. As the newly-appointed CEO of the Western Development Commission, I am delighted, on behalf of the commission, to briefly cover some of the issues we raised in our submission. I will seek to give a sense of the role and work of the commission and the area it covers, which extends from County Donegal down to County Clare, the key issues and challenges facing the western region and some of the solutions that arise.
The Western Development Commission is a statutory agency charged with fostering and promoting economic and social development of the region extending from Donegal southwards to Clare. It is important to give some of the defining characteristics of the region. Some 65% of its population live in rural areas outside centres of 1,500 people, while 80% live outside urban centres with a population of more than 10,000. The key towns, as members will be aware, are Galway, Ennis, Letterkenny and Sligo. This discussion is important because it puts foreign direct investment in context. Small and medium enterprises are vitally important to the 80% of people in the western region living outside urban centres.
On the work done by the Western Development Commission, an analysis of census figures shows that in 2016, 54,000 SMEs and only 50 large enterprises were registered in the seven counties of the western region. Between 2008 and 2016, the number of active enterprises in the western region declined by 4.3%, whereas it grew by almost 4% nationally. Despite the recovery in enterprise numbers in recent years, all counties in the western region now have fewer enterprises than they did in 2008. A higher share of the western region's enterprises operate in sectors that rely on domestic demand, including construction, accommodation and food services, other services, wholesale and retail. This throws up specific challenges for medium-sized towns and villages in these rural areas.
We addressed these in detail in our submission so I will only briefly touch on a number of them. As members would expect, connectivity is a key issue but we do not have any motorway north of Tuam. On broadband infrastructure, even when broadband is introduced take-up is an issue and this needs to be addressed. Mobile phone coverage, which is often taken for granted, is also an issue. Other issues include funding for regional seed and early stage venture capital funding, declining populations and the demographic of the western region and pressure from online retail. Sometimes we find that the isolation in networking opportunities is a challenge for SMEs.
Before I proceed to the work that we are doing, I will first note that the Western Development Commission is undertaking a strategic review. In this regard, the work of the committee is timely and we will take it into account as we look to the five years ahead.
Between 2001 and 2009, the Government provided €32 million for the western investment fund. This fund has grown and in 2017 the Western Development Commission invested about €4 million between seeding and venture capital funding. There is an investment fund for the creative industries known as the WRAP fund, a micro-loan scheme for the creative industries and we support accelerators in life science and ICT. This is almost a unique model in Europe. Over the lifetime of the Western Development Commission, it has invested more than €50 million and funded 150 enterprises, creating in the region of 5,000 jobs.
The Western Development Commission is active in policy analysis, analysing issues such as those we are discussing in this submission, on which my colleague, Ms White, worked with me. In addition, we have the website, www.lookwest.ie, which changes the narrative around the west. Rather than focusing on some of the critical indicators I have outlined, it sets out the key advantages the west offers in terms of work-life balance, affordable living and the opportunity the area holds. We are also involved in sectoral EU co-funded projects in areas such as renewable energy and the creative industries as well as in new projects in tourism, the blue economy, aquaculture and business mentoring.
I will now address some of the challenges we have identified and some of the solutions we can offer. We have been very active in addressing the lack of regional seed and early stage venture capital. It is worth noting that in 2018, only 26% of venture capital funding in the State went outside the Dublin region. One project in Limerick accounted for 19% of all venture capital funding, meaning the rest of the country accounted for only 7% of the national figure. We need to incentivise risk-taking and private investment in the tax regime. This is vital for the work of the Western Development Commission and other agencies to because we need funding to be matched or balanced.
A pipeline of talent is another key challenge. We need to identify people who are available and match their education and skills. This is something that has been identified by foreign direct investment and large companies. However, it exerts pressure in turn on the smaller and medium companies because they cannot compete for that talent. In that regard, work is being done on the issue of structured and flexible working to allow people to work from home and on a flexible basis. This increases the attraction of SMEs and allows them to compete. The Western Development Commission is developing a tool to ensure this pipeline is developed and can be built.
Broadband has been mentioned several times today. I should highlight, in particular, the take-up of broadband and the options available to people when broadband comes to an area. Sometimes it is as important to do the follow-on work to ensure that when broadband becomes available, people understand all of the opportunities it offers. We are involved in this work. This issue needs to be viewed in the context of the need for SMEs to be active online and to compete with international markets and large international retailers.
We must ensure the metropolitan area networks are competitive and offer opportunity. Rural mobile phone coverage is vital and is often taken for granted. We must ensure it is no longer an issue in this day and age.
Without labouring the point, I will address the issue of transport. Analysis done by the Western Development Commission shows that within the western region, 72% of workers commute by car, compared with 65% nationally. Transport links are vital, as is energy infrastructure because it also attracts foreign direct investment. It also has a multiplier effect which gives SMEs the ability to leverage existing infrastructure to improve their opportunities to grow.
I thank my colleagues. As I am the incoming CEO, I acknowledge the work of those who have gone before me. As I mentioned, my colleague, Ms White, is with me today but I also thank my other colleagues in the Western Development Commission. The challenges that face SMEs are not only economic problems. As Senator Ó Céidigh pointed out, they are the platform on which social life and communities can grow. Sustaining jobs is important for communities so the importance of sustainable employment cannot be overstated. Ar an mbonn sin, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl don choiste in athuair agus a rá go bhfuil an Coimisiún Forbartha an Iarthair tiománta go huille is go hiomlán chun na hoibre seo le cinntiú go mbainfimid na spriocanna seo amach.
On collaboration, I am keen to have the Western Development Commission work with other State agencies in joining the dots and communicating because many State supports are available. The State agencies should work together to make people aware of these supports. We should be cohesive and act in concert with each other to meet the challenges I have outlined and I am sure my other colleagues will outline today.