Artlite downturns and upturns don't happen in 6 month periods. You won't just get out of bed one day and it is all go again on the recruitment front.
If I were going through training at the moment I would do modular so PPL followed by time spent hour building and gaining experience. Aim to do ATPL written exams end of 2010 early 2011 (they last 3 years) then do CPL, ME/IR when things look to be picking up again (there will be lot of experienced pilots in the pool ahead of 200 hours wannabees so maybe when they start to find work again). The cost of maintaining a PPL is much lower than a multi IR (and arguably a lot more fun).
As for being ready to go when the upturn comes there is no problem having a brand new little blue book (ME/IR) now so long as you are prepared to spend thousands and thousands of pounds over the next couple of years staying current without a sniff of a job with an airline. If you have just finished now it will also be hard to stay "fresh" a couple of years down the line relative to someone who has just finished their IR etc.
It isn't rocket science.... just common sense... unfortunately not everyone seems to be given their fair share of this.