“She’s 100% committed. He’ll just have to target someone else.” It may still officially be a polite, cordial oh-so-Fine Gael leadership race, but there is no mistaking the fact the gloves are slowly coming off in the fight to become taoiseach.

What began as a difficulty surrounding whistleblowers has mutated into something far more serious — a full-blown crisis over the recording of phone calls to Garda stations.