The Government may be trying to convince us that the economy is improving, but a new survey has revealed that parents are more stressed about money now than they were in 2013.

The survey, which was carried out on behalf of the Irish Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (IACP), found that 32% of people with children are currently stressed about finances, compared to 30% in 2013.

Money-related stress was found to be generally high among people aged between 35 and 64 years, whether they were parents or not, with almost one-third stating that they had money worries.

However, the IACP said it was ‘particularly concerned that more parents are now experiencing stress due to their finances than in 2013'.

"We expected that better economic conditions would have seen this figure decrease and not rise. It is clear that not everyone is feeling the effects of the economic recovery and this is borne out by our latest survey. Stress due to financial concerns continues to be a significant problem for a large part of the population, especially parents and people in the 35-64 age groups," commented IACP spokesperson, Shane Kelly.

Other causes of stress included work, health and relationships.

The IACP advised anyone who is stressed about money to speak to the Money Advice & Budgeting Service (MABs), which advises people on how to manage money more efficiently.

It also encouraged people who are stressed to speak to their family, or to seek professional help from a GP or accredited counsellor/psychotherapist.

The survey involved over 1,000 adults and was carried out by Behaviour & Attitudes.