Ms Gráinne O'Hara:

There must be grounds for hope. If not, it would be difficult for us to continue our work. Where I see the hope is in the expression of refugees themselves. Deputy Grealish referred to this arising from his visit to Lebanon. We must remain with some optimism based on the desires and the willingness of refugees and internally displaced persons themselves to find a solution. Obviously, they cannot do that alone. If they could, a solution would have been found long before now. However, in my everyday work, I see the hope still in the expressions of the refugees and the IDPs. It is our obligation as UNHCR, as a humanitarian organisation, to work with them to achieve those aspirations. I hope we will see progress in the course of the year because we are entering the seventh year of the Syria crisis and there must be a limit. It cannot continue unabated as it has done. We have seen some improvements with ceasefires. The benefit of the ceasefire is felt by the civilians inside Syria, but the ceasefire that dates from the start of the evacuation of Aleppo is continuing to hold, so we do see some signs of progress. Hopefully, they can be consolidated and built upon into something more permanent.