Hi,
Under the age of 35, I would ask yourself the question why you would like to have a "public only" health insurance plan in the first place?
You don't have to worry about age loading yet.
The fee for a public hospital is €80 a night, max €800 in a rolling 12 month period. That's more than 6 days needed per year in a hospital to cross the break even line against the cost of your premium. Private rooms are a rarity in public hospitals and the few that do exist are used based on need eg. Infection control.
You do get a little bit back on day to day. €20 capped x 3 for the like of GP. Usefulness will depend on whether you use these. You do get scans covered, which can be handy. However consultant cover is only €60 and there is a €100 excess before any claim is covered, so that's basically another €100 to add to your premium if you want to use that benefit twice.
Having access to scans and a private consultation without actually having access to private hospital treatment is not all that useful. The benefit is you will get diagnosed earlier but then any treatment they offer you, you're going to have to pay out of pocket or go back to your GP to get a referral to a public hospital and join the same waiting list you would have been on anyways.
Urgent care is covered for 2 visits at €75 all inclusive. This can be very good to have. It is missing the follow up package of other plans for the likes of physio, classes etc
Really the main benefit I can see is the waiting time to upgrade to a private hospital plan and have cover for existing issues is 2 years instead of 5 years if you have no insurance.
For the toddler, it's similar to your own case. The government are currently looking to abolish hospital charges for under 16. Until then if the premium is small it could be handy having it cover any potential hospital stays. However the main benefit ( for getting faster access to common surgeries with long waiting lists) would be in private hospitals for which there is no cover. No cover for VHI paediatric clinic. Cover for urgent care x 2 visits which is handy for potential injuries.
Perhaps you may be better off taking that money and putting into a healthcare pot which you can spend as you need to. Then join a plan again before you turn 35 to avoid age loading.
Or perhaps you could consider upgrading to the lowest cost company plans now eg VHI PMI 5210 or Laya Inspire but this will entail increasing your budget to at least around €1200 per person. €200-350 for a child.
It really depends on how much you want to be covered for any unexpected chronic illness/injury that has a long waiting list in the public system.