Sir, – Minister for Finance Simon Harris is right that Ireland faces a housing emergency. What is harder to understand is why a Government that promised to strengthen local government is so quick to blame local authorities when housing targets are not being met.The reality is that councils can only work with the powers they have. Despite repeated commitments to local government reform, many of the key decisions that determine whether homes can be built remain outside local authority control.Councils do not decide investment by Uisce Éireann, ESB Networks, the National Transport Authority or the Department of Education. Nor can they compel private landowners to develop land that has already been zoned for housing.In Fingal, the record shows that councils are not standing still. Fingal County Council is directly delivering hundreds of social and affordable homes, facilitating large private housing developments and planning for significant population growth.Far from believing the job is done, local authorities are dealing every day with the consequences of the housing crisis while working to deliver more homes.If the Government wants housing delivery to accelerate, it should focus on removing infrastructure bottlenecks and delivering on its own commitments to strengthen local government.Councils have a vital role to play in solving the housing crisis, but they cannot be expected to carry responsibility without being given the authority that goes with it. – Yours, etc,Cllr JAMES HUMPHREYS Swords, Co Dublin.