History

Since its beginnings Dublin No 2 Branch represented Engineers and Professional Staff in ESB. Its first association was with TASS, the Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Staff trade union, which can trace its origins back to 1913.

It was during its membership of TASS that the Branch profile was significantly raised with the appointment in 1983 of the first Professional Staff Representative (PSR), a full-time official solely dedicated to the Branch. The first person to hold this post was Pat Kearney. He was succeeded by Frank Lernihan, Bill Duffy, Paul G. Cronin, and, in 2009, by Alan Egan, the current PSR.

In order to consolidate their resources and strengthen their position, and in step with worldwide trends, the organisations within the trade union movement have been going continually through a series of mergers. In 1988 TASS joined forces with ASTM to form MSF (Manufacturing Science and Finance). 2001 saw the emergence of Amicus, made up initially of MSF and AEEU (Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union) and later GPMU (Graphical, Paper and Media Union). In 2007 Amicus merged with ATGWU (Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union) to create Unite the Union.  There are also plans to grow globally in the future through some form of liaison with unions in USA and Germany.

As a consequence of these changes, Dublin No 2 Branch was known variously over the years as TASS 2, MSF 2, Amicus 2. It was agreed that that the branch needed a unique name to reflect its independent and distinct position. Following a competition among its members, on 4th July 2007 the Branch adopted the name of ESPA: Energy Sector Professionals Association.