Northern Ireland has four main hospices including NI Hospice, Evora Hospice, Foyle Hospice and Marie Curie Hospice.
There are also inpatient and specialist palliative care services in the five regional health trusts.
At present 30% of hospice services are government-funded with the rest coming from fundraising.
Campaigners have said that nothing short of 100% funding for their actual care costs including all specialist beds should be considered.
The cost of running one hospital bed is approximately £600,000 per year due to specialist nurses.
But demand is increasing with projections that the need for palliative care will rise by 57% before 2040.
Hospice cares for around 12,000 people each year with 70% of patients dying at home. That equates to around 17,000 nights of dedicated care provided by specialist staff in patients’ homes.
Data also shows that 25% of hospital admissions are in their last year of life and would benefit from specialist services in the community rather than in hospital.