The Taoiseach has said he is not at all comfortable with Micheal D'Arcy taking up a position with a financial association.
Mr D'Arcy is to take over as chief executive of the Irish Association of Investment Managers.
The former Fine Gael TD was junior minister with responsibility for financial services and insurance from 2017 until June 2020.
He was elected to the Seanad for the Agricultural Panel in April 2020, but resigned his seat at the weekend.
Mr D'Arcy has written to the Standards In Public Office Commission (SIPO) informing it of his new role.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin gave his reaction in the Dáil in response to Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald who said mortgage breaks coming to an end will cause a great deal of stress.
She said it is not business as usual for them and that the meeting between ministers and the banks was a "facade".
She said all of this was happening while the "cosy connections" between the Government and financial sector "are once again on show".
Ms McDonald, referring to Mr D'Arcy leaving the Seanad for a "big job", asked what it says to families and businesses who are relying on the Government to stand up for them, to go and bat for them.
She said this was the second minister at the Department of Finance to go through the revolving door from government to the world of high finance.
Referring to yesterday's meeting, she told the Taoiseach that ministers sat on one side of the table while another former minister sat on the other side with the banks.
She said the Tánaiste welcomed the new job of Mr D'Arcy, while other ministers have concerns and wanted to know what action the Taoiseach proposed to take.
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Read: D'Arcy resignation triggers test of Govt cohesion
The Taoiseach said the meeting yesterday was a genuine engagement and not a facade.
"I believe there should be an effective cooling-off period and I am not happy or in any way comfortable with people taking up a position who have been in office particularly in the area where they had responsibility," he said.
He said there will be a review of SIPO and the Government has agreed legislation will be reviewed.
Mr Martin said more widely he is concerned about parties being able to raise foreign donations and told Ms McDonald how he thought her party had raised $15 million over the years from the United States.
The Taoiseach said funding had also come in for referendums and that those issues are more pressing.
She said "tea and sympathy" for mortgage holders is of no use to them and that SIPO should have more powers.
She reminded the Taoiseach how then Senator D'Arcy was last week on his feet in the Seanad addressing issues close to the financial services industry while "this week we learn he is moving and changing".
Mr Martin repeated that the bigger issue for a wider review of SIPO is the influence of foreign money on Irish politics.
He said: "That's something you need to address."
"It's a Fine Gael vacancy," Taoiseach tells the Dáil when asked by @AodhanORiordain if a drugs policy advocate might be nominated for the Seanad by-election to replace Michael D’Arcy @rtenews
— Mícheál Lehane (@MichealLehane) September 29, 2020
Meanwhile, at a meeting of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party tonight, the Taoiseach said the review of SIPO legislation would ensure ministers observe a cooling off period before taking up jobs in the private sector linked to their previous role.
Micheál Martin also said that the review will have to look at the rules around political parties raising funds outside the country.
The Fianna Fáil Leader was urged by some TDs to put forward a party candidate to contest the vacancy created by Michael D'Arcy.
However, Mr Martin indicated there was a "reciprocal" agreement in place with Fine Gael on the issue.
'He should have contacted SIPO' - Varadkar
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said Mr D'Arcy has contacted the Standards in Public Office Commission about his appointment.
Mr Varadkar added: "In my view it is appropriate for any such individual, whether that's a former minister or any other relevant person, to engage with SIPO on matters such as this.
"I believe he should have contacted SIPO prior to taking up his position. I am however glad that this contact has now taken place.
"I had no knowledge of this matter prior to Sunday afternoon when Mr D'Arcy called me to say he had resigned from the Seanad and has accepted a role in the private sector."
Christmas
The Taoiseach has told the Dáil the chance of people seeing their children and grandchildren at Christmas depends on getting the Covid-19 numbers down and stabilising them over the next few weeks.
He said he did think it was possible but it depends on people's behaviour.
Labour leader Alan Kelly raised the question of whether families could reunite at Christmas and he said the country needed a road map organised around two key dates - Christmas and St Patrick's Day.
He said politicians should sign a contract to do that.
Mr Kelly also raised issues around non-Covid care and he asked for numbers on how many patients are being treated and diagnosed with coronary problems and cancer.
Hospitals
Denis Naughten, Independent TD, said hospital waiting lists are at a record high.
He noted the example of the broken CT scanner at Portiuncula University Hospital. He said it has been out of action for 144 hours this month, while this is the tenth time it has broken down over the last 18 months.
He said the HSE said it is 63rd on the replacement list and will not be replaced until sometime in 2022.
The Taoiseach said he would talk to the Minister for Health and the HSE because it was not acceptable to wait until 2022 for a new CT scanner.
Reporting: Maggie Doyle, Sandra Hurley
