Some sectors of our battered economy are experiencing a welcome growth in business, proving that there's money to be made out there, even in these recessionary times, write Fiona McCannand Róisín Ingle

IN THESE TIMES OF downward spiking graphs and toppling financial institutions, the bad news just keeps coming:consumers are keeping their euro in their pockets as figures show annual retail sales recording their biggest fall in 24 years. Employment in our once-booming construction industry is down by 18 per cent and 180,000 people are expected to be out of work as employment jumps to an estimated 8 per cent next year.

But while the glass is clearly more on the empty side for retailers and businesses facing closure, it's still half-full for a number of sectors. As moneylenders will tell you, recessions that don't have a silver lining are few and far between.

TAILORS AND DRESSMAKERS

Remember the 1980s, when hand-me-downs were par for the course, and worn cardies got darned rather than dumped? Turns out those days of taking up hems and patching elbows are back, with dressmakers reporting an upturn in business. "It's definitely on the increase," according to Elaine Grennan, who runs a dressmaking and clothing alterations business, Alterations, in Tullamore, Co Offaly. "There's an awful lot more remodelling of old dresses for balls rather than buying new ones."

In the dressmaking business for 21 years now, Grennan says this boom in her business hearkens back to pre-Celtic tiger days. "In the 1990s and the Noughties, everything was new, it was very rare that somebody would come in with a second-hand wedding dress," she says. "But that has started happening again in the last few months."

PAWN BROKERS

When it comes to recession- proof businesses, they don't come sturdier than your local pawn broker.

"I know by the figures there are more articles being pawned," says Pat Carthy of Carthy Pawnbroking on Marlborough Street in Dublin which mainly deals in jewellery and musical instruments.

Back in the dark days of the 1980s the 50-year-old firm did steady business. "It does increase slightly at times like these," says Carthy who adds that there are more foreign nationals coming in to pawn jewellery with "higher carat gold". He's also noticed that articles are being pawned out for longer than usual. "People are renewing the loans on items rather than taking them back after one four-month term," he says.

DEBT COLLECTORS

"We are extremely busy," admits Anthony Kelly, managing director of debt collection company All Ireland Credit Services Ltd. "In good times, when credit was far too easily available, we were hurting."

Kelly says the change in his company's fortunes has a lot to do with the change in economic circumstances. "In good times, bank managers increased overdrafts on the strength of just a phone call," he says. "In these kinds of times, far from increasing the overdraft, they're actually calling it in."

SHOE MENDERS

Buckle broken? Holes in your soles? Stiletto heel snapped? When it comes to footwear canny recessionistas will be looking to repair rather than replace which is good news for menders around the country.

At The Cobbler in Inisfallen Mall, Killarney, Co Kerry, business is brisk with a 20 per cent increase on last year, according to owner Peter Fee. "We've seen a massive increase in customers even in the last few weeks," says Fee. "There's been lots of faces we wouldn't have seen before - people coming in getting their shoes stretched out or repaired instead of buying new ones". The big winners, of course, will be cobblers who can mend Manolos.

HANDYMEN

General handyman Frankie Murtagh, from Kildare, says "without a shadow of a doubt" his business is on the up and he is actually turning down work at the moment. Murtagh says one of the reasons for his booming business is that people are choosing to make small home improvements rather than sell their houses or do big, suddenly unaffordable remodelling.

There are other reasons why Murtagh is doing well, however. "Customers have reported back that in the boom, large contractors were no longer willing to pick up the smaller work, and my customers feel like they're being loyal to me now as opposed to the contractor who wasn't willing to take on the smaller job," he says.

DISCOUNT RETAILERS

Discount retailers are seeing a boom, with Aldi noting a changing customer demographic as sales are on the up. "Aldi has seen a considerable increase in customer numbers during the last quarter (July, August, September), compared to the same period last year," said a spokesperson, adding that this included a significant growth in the kinds of shoppers that previously sniffed at the notion of stocking up on bargain bratwurst. "New Mercedes, BMWs and SUVs are now as common as 10-year-old cars in Aldi car parks."

TAKEAWAYS

As money starts to become, in the words of Mick Hucknall, "too tight to mention", dining out is an increasingly extravagant option. This explains why the queue at your local Chinese, chipper and burger joint seems longer than usual. A spokeswoman for Domino's pizza said it would appear that people are trading down, choosing to get in a bottle of wine and have their dinner delivered to them at home. Sales are up a very tasty 10 per cent in Ireland on this time last year.

CINEMAS

According to showbusiness bible Variety, box-office revenues in the US increased during five of the last seven recessions. "Hollywood gets a bump from the slump," crowed one of the trade mag's headlines during the summer. Audiences here, already healthy, should also pick up as people opt for a couple of hours of relatively cheap escape from the financial doom and gloom.

For sheer escapism, Mamma Mia(complete with the singalong version) has already been proving irresistable to Irish audiences who have made it the hit of the year. DVD sales and rentals are also on the rise as strapped-for-cash consumers entertain at home.