The cost of buying and selling shares should fall significantly for ordinary investors when Irish stockbrokers launch online trading services in the coming months.

Online broker charges in the UK are as low as a flat £10 sterling (€16.56) fee per trade compared to current minimum charges in the Irish market ranging from £12.50 (€15.87) to £60 per trade. But the cost of buying or selling shares here is usually much higher for small investors because of percentage-commission charges. These are as high as 1.65 per cent per trade on the first £10,000 at some of the bigger brokers - giving a charge of £82.50 on a £5,000 trade.

Irish stockbrokers will start to introduce online dealing for clients from the end of the summer. People will be able to give orders to a broker to buy and sell shares over the Internet without communicating directly with the broker. The orders can be executed almost instantly where there is a liquid market in the shares involved.

Because it requires minimal human intervention, the ongoing cost of providing this service, after the initial investment in systems, is much lower than the current execution-only (no advice given) service.

Plans to launch online trading are well advanced at a number of stockbrokers. Davy, which is expected to offer the service through selected Bank of Ireland branches as well as to its own clients, will announce details of its new service today. Its service is expected to be introduced in the fourth quarter.

But Dolmen Butler Briscoe is expected to be the first broker to have a service up and running. It expects to launch a full online dealing and research service in all markets at the end of August.

Joint managing director Mr Paul McGowan said his system would offer investors a price online which would be valid for 15 seconds - they must decide if they want to buy and sell within this period. Mr McGowan insisted the charge to investors for this execution-only service would be "competitive".

NCB plans to have its online trading service up and running early in the last quarter. It will offer clients a menu of online services with a range of charges depending on the services required.

ABN-Amro hopes to have its service in operation by the end of the year, while Goodbody is currently testing an online service.