The West is a key player in national growth

THE market value of the Western Investment Fund (WIF) has grown by nearly four times it’s original investment in 25 years.

This is according to a report by Western Development Commission (WDC) presented at the Síorghlas Investment Summit at Dexcom Stadium in Galway.

The summit was attended by over 400 investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders and policymakers where the WDC attributed the West of Ireland as a driver of national economic growth.

The report highlighted that over 25 years, the WIF has generated €10.8 billion in economy-wide revenue, returned €635 million to the Exchequer, and grown from an original state investment of €31.75 million to a current fair value of €120 million.

The fund today supports 11,535 jobs across the Irish economy, with direct employment in WIF-backed companies having doubled in the past five years.

“More than 400 people came to the West today. Not to talk about what the West needs but to show what the West has built,” stated Allan Mulrooney, Chief Executive of the Western Development Commission.

“We have the companies, the talent, the ecosystem, and now we have the evidence. The WDC Report confirms what we already knew on the ground: this region is a net contributor to the national economy,” he added.

“The companies we have backed are competing globally as 89 per cent of their revenues are export derived,” noted Gillian Buckley, Head of Investment for the Western Investment Fund.

“They are filing patents, retaining graduates, and creating the kind of jobs that keep people in the communities they grew up in. That is what a resilient national economy looks like. It does not all happen in one city,” continued Ms Buckley.