Mothers of emigrants are more likely to suffer from depression than their fathers.

A new report by The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, shows that the mental health of mothers suffered as a consequence of their children emigrating, but most fathers did not.

In the year ending April 2006 – 36 thousand people emigrated from Ireland, by 2013 – this had more than doubled – to 89 thousand emigrants.

The TILDA study also found that parents suffered more from their children emigrating, than other major events affecting their adult children such as the child becoming unemployed, divorced, separated or widowed.