Focus again on semantics is key to vital part of Nama sale probe

Forget diamonds or dogs. When it comes to politics, semantics are a person’s best friend.

The unwritten rule of public representation was central to the controversy that engulfed the previous Government over whether former garda commissioner Martin Callinan resigned or retired after a late night visit by an official at the behest of Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

And it is more than ironic that, in a week that has been dominated by yet another garda crisis, the same focus on semantics is now key to a vital part of the separate Nama Project Eagle sale inquiry.