Irish Permanent plans to take a 15 per cent stake in property website Ascotfirst.com.

The link-up means customers can search Ireland's largest property database of more than 8,000 properties supplied from 300 estate agents around the State, Irish Permanent says.

The website also provides detailed mortgage research, including mortgage calculations and quotations detailing all costs such as home insurance, life cover and tax calculations, it says.

Irish Permanent, which did not say how much it paid for its stake, has also introduced an online mortgage service.

Visitors to the new website will have access to a fully secure site which will allow them to apply for a mortgage online.

It will also enable them to track the progress of their application from initial submission right up to receipt of their loan cheque, the mortgage provider says.

"From inception to cheque issue, customers can complete the process online over the website without having to talk to anyone.

"This will be further enhanced by digital signatures when they arrive," said Mr Donal Doran, general manager of e-commerce in Irish Permanent.

The company claims the new service is the most advanced online mortgage service in the State.

Irish Permanent's chief executive, Mr Billy Kane, said: "Our research clearly demonstrated that people would value the ability to combine an online property search with the mortgage application process."

But initial take-up on the new service was expected to take time, he added.

"Initially, it will be slow and we envisage a combination of online with help from our call centre," said Mr Kane.

Mr Doran said online mortgages accounted for more than 3 per cent of the US market, with this figure predicted to expand to 20 per cent in coming years. These figures were likely to be replicated in Ireland in time, he said.

Three per cent of Irish Permanent's mortgages are currently provided by its direct arm, which was introduced in 1995.